Guinea: RKI supports first Training-of-Trainers programme on infection prevention in rural region
Date: 10/04/2025
Photo1: Team picture after training simulation at the Dinguirye Prefectural Hospital.
As part of the Global Protection Programme (GHPP), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Health, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has supported the “Partnership to Improve Patient Safety and Quality – PASQUALE” project in Guinea since 2019 (following its first funding phase within the program Klinikpartnerschaften supported by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) from 2017 to 2019). In its current phase, the project has launched Guinea’s first Training-of-Trainers (ToT) programme on infection prevention and control (IPC), implemented in the rural Faranah region, located approximately 450 km from the capital, Conakry.
Trainer performing hand hygiene practices at a Dabola Health Center.
The ToT programme aims to equip healthcare workers (HCWs) with the tools and skills to independently train peers within their local health facilities. The implementation followed a four-step approach:
- In March 2024, 17 selected HCWs from the four prefectures of the Faranah region (Dabola, Dinguiraye, Faranah, and Kissidougou) received initial IPC training. The training took place at the Faranah Regional Hospital (FRH) and was delivered by two national IPC expert trainers from the Guinean Ministry of Health (MoH) in cooperation with the PASQUALE team.
- The same cohort returned to the FRH in May 2024 for a vocational training on participatory teaching methods, led by RKI training expert Kim Grundbacher (ZIG 3).
- Between July and September 2024, the trained HCWs conducted their own needs-based IPC trainings at their respective hospitals and healthcare centres across the region.
- From 17 to 28 March 2025, the two national IPC trainers from the Guinean MoH carried out on-site evaluations of the new trainers as part of the national training curriculum. The aim was to observe training sessions, reinforce content taught in 2024, and assess challenges and gaps for future improvement.
Key actors of PASQUALE and national IPC trainers at the Faranah Regional Hospital.
The ToT programme has been well received in the Faranah region and marks a significant step toward sustainable IPC capacity-building at the local level. In a potential next project phase, PASQUALE plans to develop a sustainability plan in close collaboration with the trainer network, and to strengthen coordination with relevant stakeholders at both the regional and national level.