CLIMATESENSE STRENGTHENS INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL STRUCTURES IN FCT PRIMARY HEALTH CARE FACILITIES

By: Reginald Uhegbu

A non-governmental organisation, ClimateSENSE, has strengthened Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) structures in selected Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) through the introduction of climate-smart interventions aimed at ensuring continuity of essential IPC services during power interruptions.

The intervention, implemented as part of eHealth Africa’s Climate Health Adaptation in Health, Food Security and Nutrition programme, covers Apo, Kagini and Lugbe Primary Health Care facilities, as well as the eHealth Africa (EHA) Clinic in Life Camp.

As part of the initiative, health workers in the selected facilities received training on essential infection prevention and control measures and healthcare waste management. The facilities were also equipped with autoclaves and waste segregation bins to support the translation of IPC guidelines into routine sterilisation, proper waste disposal and infection prevention practices.

To monitor implementation and ensure sustainability, weekly assessments were conducted across the facilities between June and September 2026.

The assessment results indicated an improvement in overall IPC compliance, which increased from 81.4 per cent at the initial assessment to 88.1 per cent in the latest evaluation.

Although the findings showed progress in routine IPC practices, they also highlighted specific areas requiring further attention and sustained support.

The most significant improvement was recorded in autoclave and sterilisation practices, where compliance increased from 16.7 per cent on June 26 to 100 per cent on September 18, with all six indicators under the component meeting the required standards.

Improvements were also recorded in staff training and general IPC practices, which achieved 83.3 per cent compliance, while healthcare waste management recorded 75 per cent.

An analysis of overall facility performance showed that the eHealth Africa Clinic achieved the highest compliance score of 100 per cent, followed by Apo Primary Health Care Centre with 91.5 per cent.

Lugbe PHC recorded 83.1 per cent, while Kagini PHC scored 50.8 per cent.

ClimateSENSE, which has been collaborating with the FCT Administration to strengthen healthcare delivery and improve health outcomes for residents, recommended sustained weekly assessments and supportive supervision across the facilities.

The organisation also emphasised the need for corrective actions tailored to the specific challenges of each facility to address identified gaps and consolidate the progress achieved.

The intervention is expected to contribute to stronger IPC systems, improved healthcare waste management and more resilient primary health care services in the FCT, particularly during power disruptions.