USAID MTaPS at the 8th Infection Prevention Network-Kenya Conference

USAID MTaPS participated in the 8th Infection Prevention Network-Kenya (IPNET-K) Conference from November 26 to 29, 2019—an event organized in collaboration with the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. The goal of IPNET-K is to “encourage and facilitate multidisciplinary collaboration on IPC issues and create opportunities for health care professionals with interest in IPC.” This year’s event, titled “Putting Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) and Quality at the Center of Universal Health Coverage”, provided an opportunity for health care workers, practitioners, academics, and researchers to discuss improvements in quality of care in limited-resource environments. 

In addition to participating in panel discussions and sessions, MTaPS sponsored eight Ministry of Health employees from four MTaPS-supported facilities in Nyeri and Kisumu counties to attend the conference. Employees highlighted the work of their county hospitals with a focus on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), including IPC, waste management, and antimicrobial stewardship, through six oral presentations and two poster presentations. Three of the oral presentations and both posters received a number of awards in their respective categories. Dr. Sarah Kibira, practitioner at the Nyeri County Referral Hospital (NCRH), thanked MTaPS and the Country Director, Dr. Ndinda Kusu, for their help, saying “I am writing to say thank you to the USAID MTaPS project for the generous sponsorship that facilitated my attendance at the IPNET-Kenya conference in Kisumu. … I am better placed to handle antimicrobial stewardship activities at the NCRH as well as offering mentorship to other health facilities in Nyeri County on antimicrobial stewardship.” 
 

MOH champions from MTaPS-supported facilities receiving certificates and awards for their posters and oral presentations 

The conference created a platform to facilitate multidisciplinary collaboration and promotion of patient and staff safety in health care settings by promoting IPC measures and standards that facilitate AMR containment. These measures include a call to maximize the use of diagnostic technology to tackle AMR and of multipronged efforts to promote best practices among the general public, health workers, and policy makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of AMR.

MTaPS staff with AMR champions during IPNET-K (photo credits: Doris Bota)