Regional Workshop on Adapting WHO Guidance on HAIs and MDROs

The East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC), in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa CDC, World Bank, and IGAD, convened a high-level Regional Workshop to adapt the WHO Guidance on Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) and Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (MDROs) to the African context.

Hosted by the Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Health, the workshop brought together delegates from ten countries in the region—Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, and Namibia.

Objective of the Workshop

The main objective was to:

Adapt the WHO HAI Handbook to local contexts,
Strengthen country capacities in Infection Prevention and Control (IPC),
Align efforts with Joint External Evaluation (JEE) indicators P4.3 and R4.2, and
Provide technical tools to contain antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

This initiative is part of the Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience (HEPRR) program, supported by the World Bank, with regional coordination by ECSA-HC and IGAD.

Key Remarks and Leadership

Dr. Charles Kandie, Ag. Director of Health Standards, Quality Assurance and Regulations at Kenya’s Ministry of Health, officially opened the workshop.
Dr. Ntuli Kapologwe, Director General of ECSA-HC, emphasized the regional threat posed by AMR and MDROs and the need for sustainable investment in IPC systems.
Dr. Landry Cihambanya, WHO AFRO, reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to enhancing HAI surveillance and MDRO control in line with WHO regional priorities.

Why It Matters

According to WHO, the prevalence of healthcare-associated infections in low- and middle-income countries can be up to 12.9%, with Africa bearing one of the highest global burdens of AMR-related deaths. In some sentinel hospitals in the region, resistance rates to key antibiotics exceed 50%.

This workshop provides a timely and practical platform to co-develop regionally adapted tools that will improve patient safety, health system resilience, and antimicrobial stewardship.