Infection prevention and control (IPC) is essential to reduce the spread of health facility-acquired (nosocomial) infections, including drug-resistant ones. The USAID-funded Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) Program’s goal in global technical assistance in IPC is to reduce the development and spread of nosocomial infections and antimicrobial resistance. This contributes to an … Read more
Getahun W., Berrada S., Joshi M.P., Mulongo R., Tuala Tuala R., Shongwe K., Ludman M., Bay N. Strengthening Local Capacity to Establish or Improve Performance of Drug and Therapeutics Committees in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Poster presented at the 75th International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) World Congress, Dusseldorf, Germany, 29 September to 3 October 2015.
Goredema W, Ntengu M, Briggs J, Alemayehy W, Claassens L, et al. Strengthening infection prevention and control (IPC) systems in resource-limited settings using a self-assessment and continuous quality improvement (CQI) approach. Poster presentation at the 15th International Congress of the International Federation of Infection Control. New Delhi, India.
In South Africa, the provision of pharmaceutical services is guided by the National Drug Policy (NDP), which was adopted in 1996. The health goal of the NDP is ―to ensure the availability and accessibility of essential medicines to all citizens. Within a resource-constrained environment, irrational medicine use has the potential to compromise available health care … Read more
The high burden of HIV and the rapid scale up of ARV treatment program in KwaZulu-Natal provided a unique opportunity to establish a cohort event monitoring system at selected sites within the province. The aim of the cohort event monitoring study was to implement and establish a system of active surveillance that would have resulted … Read more
Poor availability of pharmaceutical and surgical supplies was experienced in the latter part of 2011 at hospitals and primary health care centers (PHCs) in Bojanala District, one of the four districts in the North West Province. This resulted in the decision to conduct a comprehensive survey within the district to determine reasons for the shortages … Read more
The advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has led to significant reductions in morbidity and mortality; however, adverse effects are common, and may lead to discontinuation of therapy, dose interuption, and significant reductions in quality of life. Prompt identification and management of adverse effects are crucial to ensuring adherence to treatment and the success … Read more
South Africa’s Department of Health, in collaboration with SPS, adapted the Infection Control Assessment Tool (ICAT), first published in 2010, as a cutting-edge approach to identifying, controlling, and preventing health care-associated infections (HAIs). The ICAT is a simple and practical approach for assessing the adequacy of existing infection prevention and control practices and provides specific … Read more
Vuka Uzenzele…..”Wake up and do it for yourself” was the principle that inspired pharmacists in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa to implement initiatives that led to a 16% reduction in the number of packs of chronic medicine that were not collected by patients at Umzinto Primary Health Care Clinic in the Ugu North district.
In South Africa, health facility compliance with national quality standards for health establishments is recognized as a critical component for the successful delivery of health services. With this as a backdrop, a team of pharmacists working in the district, set out to improve compliance with NCS relating to pharmaceutical services at 10 clinics in Ngaka Modiri … Read more
