With boots on the ground, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Louise Laurie and the Pacific Community’s (SPC) Margaret Leong are ready to support around a dozen health workers and share knowledge on infection prevention and control (IPC). Louise and Margaret are working hand in hand, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, to provide technical assistance on IPC in Kiribati, as the country experiences its first community transmission of COVID-19.
“Margaret and I are working together in partnership to assist the Kiribati IPC focal point Toata Kaufusi in delivering IPC education and training,” says Louise, WHO’s IPC specialist deployed to Kiribati. Louise’s assistance is one of over 60 individual deployments to support the COVID-19 response in WHO’s Western Pacific Region through the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), a technical partnership that provides support upon request to prevent and control outbreaks and public health emergencies and help countries strengthen their operations and build capacity at the local level.
Infection prevention and control technical support to Kiribati
Infection prevention and control is important in any healthcare setting but it is essential when dealing with the virus that causes COVID-19. With proper IPC protocols in place, health workers, patients, and carers are protected from being harmed by avoidable infections when in a hospital or any health facility setting. Proper IPC involves understanding proper hand hygiene, appropriate ventilation, correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and masks, and the correct disposal of clinical waste.
“Our routine varies according to the requirements of the healthcare facilities we visit, but it often involves being on site at Tungaru Hospital, the main health facility in Kiribati. The Tungaru Hospital has an emergency department, outpatient clinics, paediatric, private, surgical, medical and gynecological wards, operating theatres and ICU rooms. We carry out surveillance of these various areas within the hospital with an IPC lens. Our main focus is whether correct and appropriate PPE is being worn, how the PPE is being put on and taken off, and whether the signage posted in strategic areas throughout the hospital relays appropriate and clear information to staff, patients and visitors around IPC protocols and processes,” explains Louise.
Margaret Leong from SPC (left) and Louise Laurie from WHO/GOARN (right), in a PPE storeroom in South Tarawa, created by the team to facilitate adequate supply of PPE and alcohol-based hand rub for healthcare workers.
At the height of the largest surge in cases in Kiribati so far, Louise and Margaret are meeting doctors, nurses, laboratory specialists, hospital administrators, community workers, cleaners, and airport and seaport staff to train them on IPC guidelines and work with them to adapt the guidelines to their context. They have visited hospitals, clinics, isolation centres and airports and seaports in South Tarawa and boarded a boat to North Tarawa to provide education and training on IPC.
“It's really important to educate, empower and ensure that the staff have a really good understanding of IPC and can make those assessments and changes themselves,” says Louise.
Louise and Margaret aboard a boat on the way to North Tarawa in Kiribati to provide technical assistance on infection prevention and control.
Partners come together to support Pacific island countries and areas
Partnerships are at the heart of the COVID-19 response in the Pacific, including the work to strengthen IPC. As more and more Pacific island countries like Kiribati are dealing with their first community transmission of COVID-19, partners have continued to come together to provide tailored assistance based on each country’s needs. The support from partners such as SPC, UN agencies, the European Union, Australia and New Zealand, are coordinated closely through the WHO-led Pacific COVID-19 Joint Incident Management Team (JIMT). The JIMT has been established since 2020 and has provided significant support to Pacific island countries and areas including through the sharing of technical advice, mobilization of personnel for deployment, capacity-building through remote and in-person training, and delivery of vaccines, equipment and supplies.
In addition, WHO, SPC, the World Food Programme and the European Union have an ongoing joint partnership agreement to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in several Pacific island countries and areas. Under this agreement, WHO, through its Division of Pacific Technical Support office and country offices, has been providing technical assistance to Member States to strengthen COVID-19 capacities on clinical management, infection prevention and control, vaccination rollout, laboratory and diagnostics, and risk communication and community engagement.
“The European Union has been a stalwart partner in our COVID-19 preparedness and response efforts. Their timely contribution since 2020 has armed health workers and communities with the right knowledge and tools to deal with the virus. Ultimately, these efforts are saving lives and protecting people from more severe health outcomes,” explains WHO Representative to the South Pacific and Director of Pacific Technical Support Dr Mark Jacobs.
WHO and EU have also prepositioned and delivered life-saving equipment and supplies, including IPC supplies such as surgical masks and N95 respirators, face shields, and hand rubs to countries and areas across the Pacific.
“From the first wave of COVID-19 back in 2020, we understood that the coronavirus pandemic is a global challenge which requires a global response. In the Pacific, the EU and its Member States redirected €20 million to WHO, SPC and the World Food Programme to help countries fight COVID-19 outbreaks on their shores. These resources strengthen their COVID-19 preparedness and response activities and mitigate the negative health and socioeconomic impact of this pandemic,” says the EU Ambassador for the Pacific, H.E. Sujiro Seam.
In Kiribati, the impact of this partnership is being felt on the ground. With leadership from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services and with support from WHO, SPC, EU and other partners, health workers, community workers and other frontline staff in Kiribati are equipped with the right PPE and provided with knowledge and skills to protect themselves and those around them from COVID-19.
WHO and SPC closely work with health workers to ensure proper use of PPE.