Nigeria’s Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Technical Working Group was inaugurated by the director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Jide Idris.
Idris, who represented the Minister of Health and Social Welfare,Dr. Muhammad Pate, said the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC) provided support for this initiative.
The working group comprises representatives from the Government of Nigeria, disease programs, partner organisations, and academia. It aims to enhance IPC coordination among stakeholders, prevent the spread of communicable diseases, improve patient safety and care quality, reduce healthcare-associated infections (including multidrug-resistant ones) and standardise infectious disease prevention procedures across the country.
At the inaugural meeting, programme director of the U.S. CDC Division of Global Health Protection, Dr. Farah Husain emphasised the importance of robust IPC programmes at all healthcare levels. She noted that such programmes are vital not only for reducing patient infections but also for protecting healthcare workers. Strong IPC programs contribute to sustainable healthcare systems, help reduce antimicrobial resistance and improve outbreak response. The technical working group will support the coordination and planning of Nigeria’s IPC programme, including biosecurity and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) initiatives. It will also develop comprehensive, evidence-based IPC plans aligned with national and international standards and strengthen IPC governance at all levels.
U.S. government support for IPC in Nigeria has grown since the Ebola outbreak in 2014. The U.S. CDC initially helped develop an IPC curriculum and national guidelines for Nigeria’s healthcare system. In 2018, in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, they launched the national IPC program, leading to the establishment of the Orange Network, a group of 41 tertiary health facilities that serve as IPC programme models. The IPC programme is currently scaling up its national healthcare-associated infection prevention surveillance programme, aiming to provide data for decision-making and progress measurement as Nigeria works to eliminate morbidity and mortality related to healthcare-associated infections.
This initiative represents a significant step in strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare system and improving infection prevention and control across the country.
