28 January 2017

Now the Middle East and North Africa MENA region is joining a global movement and your hospital can be part of it. Prove your excellence in successfully reducing Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) rates by adopting the WHO Multimodal Hand Hygiene Implementation Strategy and apply for the honorable Hand Hygiene Excellence Award (HHEA) in the MENA region.

The HHEA was initiated in 2009 in Asia-Pacific as a natural consequence of the WHO Clean Care is Safer Care Programme to heighten awareness of the need to combat HAIs and increase patient safety. Later on, the Award was successfully introduced in Europe (2012) and in Latin America (2014).The HHEA identifies, honors and celebrates those hospitals and health care workers who have contributed to improve patient safety through their excellence, enthusiasm and innovatory methods.

To apply the hospitals register at www.hhea.info and then receive a submission form to be completed. The submission form is mainly based on the WHO Hand Hygiene Self Assessment Framework (http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/tools/en/) with additional questions to verify a sustained hand hygiene improvement campaign.

A unique process has been developed for the awards. The chairman Prof. Didier Pittet (director, infection control programme and WHO Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety, Lead Adviser, Clean Care is Safer Care programme, University of Geneva Hospitals & Faculty of Medicine and WHO, Geneva) as well as an international panel of leading infection control experts are evaluating the candidatures and assess the finalists during a visit in their hospital in order to elect the winning hospitals. The winners will be invited to a regional infection control congress to get honored in a winning ceremony and to present their success story. Then they become role models in their region inspiring and teaching other hospitals who want to follow.

The award is endorsed by the Aesculap Academy and supported by B. Braun, one of the world's leading manufacturers of medical devices and pharmaceutical products. The essence of the HHEA matches perfectly with the B. Braun core values sharing expertise and to protect and improve people's health.

Apply for the MENA Hand Hygiene Excellence Award until 5^th of May 2018 and show how you improve patient safety by reducing HAI with excellent hand hygiene programmes. Learn more on www.hhea.info