Health-care-associated infections (HAIs) pose a significant global challenge, impacting patient safety, increasing morbidity and mortality, and straining health-care systems financially. Effective infection prevention and control (IPC) measures are essential to reduce HAIs, improve care quality and ensure patient safety by minimizing the risk of complications. Furthermore, IPC plays a critical role in combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by preventing infections that lead to unnecessary antibiotic use.
Recent data highlight concerning gaps in IPC programmes. As of 2023, 11% of countries in the world lacked an IPC plan, and only 34% had fully implemented national programmes. HAI surveillance remains particularly weak, with only 43% of countries globally having functional systems. In the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region, countries have made slow progress in HAI surveillance, underscoring the need for robust systems.
This meeting will focus on enhancing IPC and HAI surveillance at both the national and facility levels in Member States in the WHO Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions, including those that are part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Attendees will review the current country benchmarks and develop actionable recommendations that align efforts with the Global Action Plan and Monitoring Framework on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) for 2024−2030. These initiatives are vital for reducing HAIs, building capacity to combat AMR, and ultimately improving quality of care and patient safety. This meeting will also enable the formulation of a cross-regional network for continuous learning and collaborations.
Ahead of the workshop, WHO will conduct a country benchmarking survey on IPC and HAI using a digital platform. This survey, aligned with the WHO Global Action Plan and Monitoring Framework on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), 2024–2030, will evaluate country performance against global standards, providing critical insights for the meeting discussions. Survey data and results will be shared with Member States ahead of the workshop.
