Progress in epidemic-ready primary health care: early pilot results from four African countries (Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda), December 2023 - October 2024.

ABSTRACT: Primary healthcare (PHC) is the first point of contact with communities and essential for epidemic preparedness. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed gaps in PHC resilience. Epidemic Ready Primary Healthcare (ERPHC) was designed to bridge these gaps by strengthening PHC to prevent, detect and respond to outbreaks while maintaining essential services. An ERPHC pilot was initiated in December 2023 in 654 PHC facilities across Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda. The approach improves connection to local communities, detection and reporting of cases, healthcare worker protection and patient treatment. Interventions include integrating Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), surveillance and case management functions, monthly mentorship visits, data-driven quality improvement assessments and e

SUBMITTER: Mearns SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12455494 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature