The Nigerian government has said the healthcare system is grappling with a substantial financial burden caused by the prevalence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).
The Coordinator of the National Infection Prevention and Control Programme at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Tochi Okwor, revealed this on Monday at the inauguration of the national IPC Technical Working Group (IPC TWG) in Abuja.
Mrs Okwo, who referenced a report by WaterAid Nigeria, noted that the high prevalence of HAIs has been estimated to cost $4.5 billion in 2023, about N7.2 trillion based on the foreign exchange rate of N1,620 to a dollar as of Tuesday.
HAIs are infections that patients acquire while receiving treatment for medical or surgical conditions within a healthcare setting.
These infections can occur during procedures, from the use of medical devices, or due to the transmission of pathogens in healthcare environments.
According to Mrs Okwor,…