MMIS works in 11 countries in Africa and the Caribbean to promote a world in which:
In every health facility, trained health care workers administer only necessary injections safely, using appropriate safe injection devices.
Health care waste is efficiently managed using methods that are safe for the community and the environment.
MMIS BACKGROUND
In 2004, as part of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) focusing on countries with high HIV prevalence, John Snow, Inc. (JSI) and its subcontractors, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), Academy for Educational Development (AED), and the Manoff Group, were awarded funds through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement “Rapid Interventions to Decrease Unsafe Injections” in 11 countries. The project is commonly known as Making Medical Injections Safer (MMIS).
Of the 16 billion injections given annually worldwide according to WHO estimates, too many are unnecessary and unsafe. Unsterilized needles are reused, mishandling of dirty needles endangers both patients and health care workers, and inadequate sharps waste disposal contaminates the community, exposing the wider public to health risks. These unsafe and unnecessary injections spread HIV and hepatitis B and C in communities already burdened by poverty and disease.
MMIS OBJECTIVES
By the end of the five-year project (2009) and with national counterparts, MMIS will establish an environment where patients, health care workers, and the community are better protected from the medical transmission of HIV and other bloodborne pathogens. MMIS will do this by working with governments and other partners to:
Improve injection safety practices through training and capacity building of health care workers and other personnel;
Ensure the availability of injection safety devices and related commodities at service delivery points through commodity procurement and the development of implementation of effective strategies;
Reduce unnecessary injections through the development and implementation of targeted advocacy and behavior change strategies;
Reduce unnecessary injections through the development and implementation of targeted advocacy and behavior change strategies;
Increase health care worker safety through effective protection and policy measures.
MMIS provides support for sustainable approaches for injection safety, including:
