Today, Monday, the Minister of Health, Dr. Firas Al-Hawari, confirmed that infection control is of great importance to the Jordanian health sector, due to its tangible positive results on the health of patients and providing a safe environment for health personnel.

This came during his sponsorship of the graduation ceremony of infection control liaison officers from Ministry of Health hospitals and health directorates, who successfully completed the requirements of the accredited infection prevention and control training course, which was implemented in cooperation with the Drugs, Technologies and Pharmaceutical Services Program funded by USAID and the Health Institutions Accreditation Council.

Al-Hawari said that infection control reduces the duration of patients’ stay in hospitals, which reduces the financial costs for them, which may exceed three times the original cost in the event that they are not exposed to infection.

He added that infection control programs help greatly in facing one of the most important challenges facing the health sector with regard to the limited beds, as the length of stay of patients who are exposed to hospital infections is about 16 additional days than expected in the event that they are not exposed to infection.

He explained that controlling infection is one of the basic components on which safe patient care depends, to provide a safe environment for health personnel, patients and the community, through the application of policies and procedures to prevent, control and control infection with the optimal use of available resources.

Al-Hawari stressed that the Ministry of Health is keen to provide a safe service for health facility auditors, explaining that the Ministry, in order to achieve this, has launched a guide to infection control procedures and policies in health facilities, to provide this service with high quality, ensure the safety of health personnel and patients, and focus on occupational health.

And he appreciated the cooperation between the Ministry of Health, the US Agency for International Development, and the Health Institutions Accreditation Council, to train and qualify liaison officers in the field of infection control.

For her part, Director of the Health and Population Office at the US Agency for International Development in Jordan, Bethany Haber, expressed her happiness with the sustainable partnership with the Ministry of Health, stressing the importance of infection control and control programs because of their importance in reaching a healthy and safe society.

In her turn, Salma Al-Jaouni, Executive Director of the Health Institutions Accreditation Council, said that these trainings are of utmost importance to provide health institutions with the skills required for safe care, and that continuous training is an important part in moving forward towards better care, referring to the electronic quality platform (ejawda) that is available to everyone to develop their skills. technical required.

At the end of the ceremony, Al-Hawari handed over certificates of passing the course to the 34 liaison officers.

It is noteworthy that the course was developed based on the recommendations of the Supreme Advisory Committee for the Prevention and Control of Infection, in coordination with the Epidemiology Department at the Ministry of Health, to improve and standardize infection control practices across sectors and in accordance with updated scientific evidence.