BALTIMORE, Sept. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the Ebola crisis in West Africa intensifying, Jhpiego, an international, nonprofit health organization, has been ramping up efforts to provide critical, lifesaving infection prevention and control (IPC) assistance to the governments of Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria, including updating the skills of health workers who deliver care to women and families.
Jhpiego, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University with decades of experience in the region, has worked in partnership with the ministries of health and professional organizations in these countries to ensure that health workers follow best practices in IPC that will help minimize the spread of Ebola.
Jhpiego has committed new funds to a special Ebola Response Initiative to respond to the health ministries' urgent needs, continue providing technical assistance to address anxiety among health workers, and support the delivery of safe, high-quality health services, especially to vulnerable pregnant women, mothers and newborns.
"The devastating outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has drawn attention to the critical role frontline health workers play in health systems around the world," said Leslie Mancuso, President and CEO of Jhpiego. "Jhpiego is working with our partners to help ensure health care providers are fully informed on infection prevention measures, appropriately trained and empowered to provide lifesaving care in a safe environment."
The intensity and pace of the Ebola crisis has overwhelmed health systems in Liberia and Guinea, exhausting nurses, midwives and other frontline responders; consuming supplies such as chlorine, a key ingredient in ensuring infection prevention; and leaving some health facilities unmanned to provide routine health services.
To help health workers protect themselves, Jhpiego has deployed its staff in the three countries to share IPC messages and materials that have been adapted for the Ebola crisis. In Liberia, Jhpiego has worked closely with the health ministry to provide additional training in appropriate hand washing, use of protective gear and safety equipment, proper disposal of waste, warning signs of Ebola and appropriate follow-up if exposure to Ebola is suspected. Jhpiego helped advance this capacity-building with partners.
In Nigeria, Jhpiego is working with the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics to develop guidelines for the prevention and control of the Ebola virus in pregnancy and build the capacity of health care trainers. In Guinea, Jhpiego's innovative response will use mobile phones to deliver IPC-related text messages to health workers.
For more information, please contact Jhpiego's Melody McCoy at 410-0537-1829 or melody.mccoy@jhpiego.org
SOURCE Jhpiego
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