Health care-associated infections (HAI) remain one of the most frequent and serious challenges in health care delivery worldwide. Affecting approximately 7% of patients in high-income countries and up to 15% in low- and middle-income countries. HAI not only compromise patient safety but also contribute significantly to increased morbidity, mortality, and a reduced quality of life. Beyond the clinical impact, these infections impose a substantial economic burden on health systems and societies.
Despite their prevalence, a large proportion of HAI are preventable through robust infection prevention and control (IPC) practices. Yet, the global burden of HAI and antimicrobial resistance continues (AMR) to rise, affecting patients in every country—regardless of income level.
HAI surveillance is a cornerstone of effective IPC programmes, but recent findings from WHO highlight that HAI surveillance remains underdeveloped, particularly in low-resource settings. Strengthening HAI surveillance systems is essential to inform targeted interventions, support progress monitoring, and ultimately, to improve health outcomes for patients.
This webinar will showcase key resources and strategies to support countries and health facilities in enhancing their HAI surveillance efforts. Speakers will describe the global landscape of HAI, emphasize the need to strengthen HAI surveillance systems at national and facility level, and explore how HAI surveillance can drive measurable improvements in IPC.
Objectives of the webinar:
- To highlight the HAI situation globally including the need for developing and implementing facility and national level HAI surveillance programs and to put them in the context of both the WHO Global Strategy on IPC (SD5 – Data for action) and the linked WHO Global Action Plan and Monitoring Framework on IPC (2024–2030) with its indicator, targets and priority actions
- To provide an overview of the objectives, principles, methods and essential elements of HAI surveillance with specific reference to the WHO handbook on surveillance of health care – associated infections at national and facility levels
- To highlight possibilities for integration of HAI surveillance and AMR surveillance
- To share country examples of the implementation of HAI surveillance including strategies to overcome some of the common challenges