Strengthening infection prevention, control: Africa CDC, health ministry strategise on implementing legal framework.

The health stakeholders, as well as legal minds, met in Douala for a meeting which marked a milestone achievement in the health sector. 

The Africa CDC IPC Team lead for Cameroon, Senior Technical Officer for IPC Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Africa CDC, Andy Bulabula, said they had come to support Cameroon in developing and validating the norms supporting the development and validation of the IPC norms and standards within the country's health pyramid, 

He said the workshop will show the way to implement the IPC activities at the national and the facility levels. He added that it will provide the requirements for both national and facility teams to make sure there are the best practices in IPC. 

Bulabula noted that before now, the situation in many African countries was that there were no exciting binding principles in IPCs. 

He said one developed by Africa CDC is an avant garde in the world. Cameroon, he said, is one of the pioneers working on adopting and domesticating the African CDC IPC legal framework. 

The framework, Dr Bulabula added, provides domains and that give directions in different categories like post admission infections. The legal framework, he also said, will give the base of operations and requirements. 

“It will require facilities to put in place an effective IPC programme, provide health personnel best practices, standard precautions including washing of hands before touching a patient. They also have elements like environment hygiene in healthcare, controlling infectious diseases, promoting a safer and healthier future,” he said.

Collaboration among stakeholders

The IPC Legal Framework involved collaboration among stakeholders, including policymakers, health experts, and legal professionals, ensuring its alignment with national priorities and international standards and ensuring its alignment with regional priorities and standards.

By establishing a robust IPC legal framework, , the country will be equipped to  better equipped to respond to outbreaks and pandemics, safeguard the well-being of its people, and promote a healthier health facilities 

Africa CDC it was said, is dedicated to supporting African Union Member States in implementing the IPC Legal Framework. Recognizing the life-saving potential of laws, Africa CDC actively promotes adopting and enforcing effective legal measures for preventing and controlling infectious diseases. 

Through financial, technical, and collaborative assistance, Africa CDC empowers countries to strengthen their legal frameworks, ultimately enhancing their ability to safeguard public health and mitigate the impact of outbreaks.

Going by Dr Eric Tandi, IPG Focal point at the Ministry of Public Health, the adopting of the IPC legal framework by Cameroon does not mean that such practices were inexistent in the health system of the country. 

However, Dr Tandi emphasised, there has been some level of negligence on the part of some collaborators.  He sees the digital age as a dangerous era for medical professionals.

"We are moving more to the digital world and these days, social media is taking the lead even what is not very healthy to the population, you find it online. When we talk of infection prevention and control, developing norms and standards means some rules and regulations need to be respected. Not that they do not exist, but there has been some degree of laxity and reluctance by some collaborators," Dr. Tandi said. 

He added that: "But then, having partners with the concept is like reawakening. African CDC and World Health Organisation, WHO, are trying to help us because it's a new concept. Before we talk of a patient who comes to the health facility, upon returning, the person is infected. That is why we are trying to avoid these kind of situation by creating instruments which are documents that will help to remind the population to know and watch over each other”.  

By so doing, he said, they all need to know that, “when you pay money to obtain quality healthcare, such standards should be given to you”.

“When any of us breaches, there should be some sanctions, so that there shouldn't be any negligence. Some people fake up stuff, there should be justice on both sides. The legal framework will help to boost the health system for a clear and better management and provision of quality healthcare," Dr Tandi noted.