Building the Skills of Health Workers for Stronger Infection Prevention Capacity in Mali

MTaPS collaborated with the direction générale de la Santé to organize a capacity-building workshop, which was held February 24–28, to strengthen the skills of the groupe de coordination multisectorielle national de la lutte contre la résistance aux antimicrobiens, including regional offices (directions régionales de la Santé), in Bamako, Mali. The objective of this five-day workshop was to develop a training package that can be adapted to eLearning.

IPC participants working to design their IPC facilitator guide, including participants from the direction générale de la Santé, 10 directions régionales de la Santé,the direction nationale des Services vétérinaires, the Agence nationale de gestion des stations d’epuration du Mali, hospitals, the Faculté de médecine et d’odontostomatologie, and partners such as WHO and Intrahealth International. 

Thirty drug and therapeutics committee members (27 male; 3 female) from both the human and animal health sectors attended the workshop, which focused on three key aspects: ensuring comprehension of infection prevention and control (IPC) technical content, strengthening participant understanding of foundations of learning design and facilitation skills, and designing a competency-based curriculum. A particular emphasis was placed on skill-based learning.

By the end of the workshop, participants were able to produce a competency-based curriculum. This curriculum included a facilitator guide explaining how to lead the training program; an agenda for the face-to-face training session; a participant guide based on IPC guidelines for learners to use during training sessions; and PowerPoint slides covering essential themes such as treatment safety, hygiene, and waste management.

Photo credit: Abibata Handley, MTaPS 

Participants will use the curriculum to train a pool of IPC champions in May, ensuring that health care professionals in Mali receive quality training programs that teach them the latest national IPC guidelines. Using the curriculum to increase health care professionals’ knowledge and skills in IPC will guide the country on a pathway toward stronger progress against antimicrobial resistance and poor antimicrobial practices.