Country Landscape and MTaPS’ Support

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mali needed support prioritizing health facilities to handle the influx of COVID-19 patients and to train workers on COVID-19-specific infection prevention and control (IPC)—including how to use personal protective equipment (PPE). In response, USAID MTaPS provided support to the Government of Mali that focused on IPC.

To assist the country with the implementation of vaccination activities, MTaPS is providing its financial and technical support on the fronts of supply chain, logistics (waste management), and pharmacovigilance to ensure a successful COVID-19 immunization program.

Select Highlights

Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) and Case Management

Indicators as of September 2023

289

Number of workers trained on COVID-19-related IPC and/or WASH

164

Number of health facilities supported on IPC and/or WASH for COVID-19

  • Supported the implementation of a national action plan for COVID-19 that focused on IPC program management and defined the country’s strategy to combat COVID-19
  • Adapted the MTaPS-developed IPC toolkit for COVID-19 prevention training in the country, including strengthening health care workers’ and non-health staff’s capacity to recognize, triage, and isolate suspected COVID-19 patients and properly practice IPC precautions—including PPE use—to keep themselves and patients safe
  • Monitored and improved compliance of 12 MTaPS-supported health facilities in the city of Bamako and the Kayes, Koulikoro, and Sikasso regions leveraging the WHO AFRO COVID-19 IPC scorecards for rapid and frequent assessments to encourage improvement of IPC practices
  • Extensively built IPC capacities of health care workers and ancillary staff using strategic approaches:  
    • Trained 30 master trainers at the national level and 110 health care providers from 41 health facilities at the district level for implementation of national IPC guidelines  
    • Launched an e-learning platform with 10 standard IPC and 6 COVID-19 IPC modules, increasing access to IPC training in a sustainable way. (Read more)
    • Provided 12 training sessions to 170 cleaners, ambulance drivers, and morgue attendants to protect themselves and their community from infection risks. (Read more)

Demonstration of how to prepare a solution of bleach and soapy water during the training for the Mère-Enfant Luxembourg Hospital staff. Photo credit: Dr. Famory Samassa, Senior Technical Advisor, MTaPS Mali

Covid Vaccine Deployment

Indicators as of September 2023

221

Total AEFI reports submitted with MTaPS support for review

383

Number of people trained on COVID-19 vaccine-related topics with MTaPS support

  • Built capacity of vaccine-related waste management by supporting the Supply Chain and Logistics Committee to train 75 people in charge of waste collection, transport, and disposal in Kayes, Koulikoro, and Sikasso regions
  • Developed pharmacovigilance training modules for COVID-19 vaccine-related adverse events following immunization (AEFI), including notifying, investigating, communicating, preventing, and caring for patients with AEFI. (Read more)
  • Trained 17 health professionals on pharmacovigilance modules, who cascaded their knowledge to 125 service providers, which will enable the providers to systematically share surveillance information and investigate AEFI
Photo Mali

 

 

Training workshop on pharmacovigilance for service providers

Photo credit: Dr. Safoura Berthé, MTaPS Mali

 

Partners include:

  • The Ministry of Health and Social Development
  • The Directorate General for Health and Public Hygiene
  • The National Agency for Hospital Evaluation
  • The National Public Health Institute
  • WHO
  • UNICEF
  • IntraHealth
  • The Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement (REDISSE) Project
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