Background
The WHO Regional Office for Europe is implementing a capacity-building project on antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and infection prevention and control (IPC) across several countries in the European Region. The technical missions, involving visits to selected countries in the second half of 2026, aim to strengthen facility-level AMS–IPC practices, to be followed up by tailored capacity building, coaching and implementation support next year.
Participating countries and visit dates
- Denmark: 24–28 August
- Lithuania: 21–25 September
- Hungary: 5–9 October
- Republic of Moldova: 2–5 November
- Cyprus: 23–27 November
- Greece: 7–11 December
Purpose and objectives of the visits
The purpose of the visits is to review how AMS- and IPC-related activities are being implemented in the participating hospitals, identify what is working well and explore where further support could help strengthen, sustain or scale up facility-level improvements. The visit will focus in particular on multidisciplinary collaboration, behavioural change approaches, AMS–IPC integration and practical implementation challenges.
The visit will pursue the following objectives:
- review current AMS and IPC systems, capacities and practices;
- identify priority areas where expert mentoring and coaching in 2027 could help facilities sustain, refine or scale up AMS–IPC interventions;
- identify opportunities to strengthen integration between AMS and IPC teams in the participating facilities;
- explore how knowledge, tools and practical experience can be transferred between hospitals, supporting wider national learning and dissemination of good practices; and
- generate practical insights to inform national learning, peer exchange and cross-country learning.