Lessons learned
Learning the lessons from its COVID-19 preparedness and response, Kazakhstan is committed to building robust and sustainable infection prevention and control (IPC) solutions, in the health care sector and in communities.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kazakhstan boosted its IPC capacities at a national level by rapidly establishing or strengthening all core components of IPC programmes, including extensive training of front-line health workers and assessment and improvement of evidence-based IPC practices at the point of care in health care facilities. The Government of Kazakhstan is fully committed to building robust sustainable solutions and has included IPC element in the national “Healthy Nation” strategic programme for 2021-2025.
A set of policy-level recommendations provided by WHO Europe to the Ministry of Health (MoH) has triggered important changes in the normative national IPC frameworks. As such, several decrees by the MoH have been either revised or developed, with a focus on:
- a national IPC programme developed and endorsed by MOH
- establishing facility-level IPC programmes;
- updating national guidance for surveillance of health care-associated infections;
- creating accreditation standards for healthcare facilities (HCF), including mechanisms for monitoring and audit;
- developing standards on workload, staffing, and bed occupancy for HCF; and
- developing water sanitation and hygiene as well as physical infrastructure standards.
A functional IPC programme
MoH has appointed IPC focal points and created a voluntary national expert group on IPC and antimicrobial resistance to provide technical IPC advice to the MoH.
In 2019, the national expert group requested WHO Europe to support the self-assessment of the WHO IPC core components at the national and facility levels using WHO assessment tools. A pilot assessment was conducted at some medical facilities and, based on this assessment, national authorities have made a decision to strengthen IPC practices at four medical facilities to show the case of best IPC practices.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the National IPC programme supported the national COVID-19 task force by ensuring alignment of national IPC measures with international recommendations. IPC measures have been implemented using a multi-modal strategy implementation approach, IPC trainings of front-line health workers were extensively and routinely conducted, and IPC capacities at the health care facility level were further strengthened as an outcome of regular assessment, monitoring, and feedback.
Learning the lessons from the COVID-19 preparedness and response, Kazakhstan has endorsed the national IPC programme and is institutionalizing the sharing of technical expertise and best practice through the forthcoming establishment of a formal IPC committee, composed of IPC practitioners from internationally accredited health care facilities with a robust IPC programme.
In-country IPC experience exchange is in place to facilitate the sharing of best IPC practices within HCF IPC programmes, while evidence-based recommendations are being included in the forthcoming national IPC manual.