Globally, major gaps in basic water, sanitation, hygiene, waste management and cleaning services exist in health care facilities (HCFs). A quarter of all HCFs around the world have no basic water services, which means 712 million people have no access to water when they use health care facilities. WASH services are especially deficient in least-developed countries (LDCs) where half of HCFs lack basic water services and 60% have no sanitation services. WASH services remain at the Center of effective Infection prevention and control programs, which are essential for the reduction of healthcare associated infections.
USAID’s Momentum Country and Global Leadership (MCGL) Project is conducting a study to estimate the costs and cost-savings of implementing a comprehensive infection prevention and control program in public health care facilities in Nigeria. The project will model the cost savings to public sector maternal and neonatal health services from delivery of a comprehensive infection prevention and control (IPC) program with the following objectives:
- Estimate the cost of maintaining basic infection prevention standards in maternal and newborn wards with public secondary health care facilities.
- Estimate the cost of treating maternal and neonatal infections.
- Estimate the change in healthcare-acquired maternal and newborn sepsis cases as a result of maintaining basic infection prevention standards.
- Estimate the impact of maintaining basic infection prevention standards on avoided health system costs associated with maternal and newborn healthcare acquired infections.
Key questions that MCGL aims to address through this analysis are:
- How much does it cost to implement an IPC program in secondary health facilities in Nigeria?
- How much does it cost to treat neonatal and maternal healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) in secondary health facilities in Nigeria?
The project will apply both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data and answer our objectives. Quantitative methods will include document review of epidemiological data, digital and manual financial information, and structured data collection tools that will capture: 1) IPC program implementation costs from project partners and the government of Nigeria; and 2) input costs for treating neonatal and maternal infections. We will also use qualitative methods for determining the inputs needed for estimating the cost for treating infections, which will rely on engagement and dialogue with local health experts to arrive at a consensus on the inputs (labor, commodities, drugs, etc.) required for treatment of low, moderate or severe neonatal and maternal infections.
This program is scheduled to run from October-November 2023