Reaffirming Ghana’s commitment to infection prevention and control through the promotion of appropriate hand hygiene practices, the Ministry of Health joined the international health community in commemorating World Hand Hygiene Day today.
The topic of this year’s observance, “It may be gloves, it’s always hand hygiene,” emphasized the critical role that clean hands play in preserving health and guaranteeing the safe provision of care at all levels of the healthcare system.
Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Minister of Health, said during the occasion that this year’s observance is in line with Ghana’s National IPC Strategy and the World Health Organization’s Global Action Plan and Monitoring Framework for Infection Prevention and Control (2024 2030).
He urged for uniform hand hygiene standards from top-level administrators to frontline workers, pointing out that gloves are necessary in clinical settings but should never take the place of good hand hygiene, particularly as the nation recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects.
The Minister stated that the celebration emphasized the advancements made under the IPC framework, such as the creation of a National IPC Committee that convenes every three months to direct the implementation of policies, the designation of a national IPC focal person to supervise activities across the country, and the incorporation of hand hygiene indicators into the District Health
Information Management System (DHIMS2).
He said that all Ghanaian teaching and regional hospitals will have to regularly check for hand hygiene compliance by 2026 and integrate the feedback into their quality improvement systems.
In order to foster a culture in which everyone participates, Hon. Akandoh emphasized that hand hygiene instruction must go beyond hospitals and into families, schools, and communities.
“Have you washed your hands?” He urged residents to empower patients to inquire. and asked leaders in the health sector to set an example.
According to a World Health Organization spokesperson, only 50% of surgical teams adhere to hand hygiene best practices during a surgical patient’s hospital stay, and 70% of healthcare professionals do not regularly practice hand hygiene.
Source: newsthemegh.com