07 August 2023, Nairobi: Over 70 Experts from 15 African Union Member States in East and Southern Africa under the One-Health Approach convened in Nairobi, Kenya to review the Antimicrobial (AMR) stewardship guidelines and forge a way towards the implementation of the AMR surveillance systems. This initiative is a response to the rising concern on the increasing burden of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).
In her opening remarks, Dr. Susan Nakhumicha Wafula, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Health, acknowledged the global threat AMR poses to public health and commended the collaborative endeavours of the organizing bodies Africa CDC and ECSA-HC.
She underlined the urgency of concerted efforts to tackle AMR and advocated for a comprehensive One-Health Approach, combining efforts across multiple sectors — human health, animal health, environmental health, and agriculture — to prevent the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance. “Reliable data is the bedrock upon which effective strategies are built, and by leveraging on data, we can identify hotspots of resistance and be able to track emerging threats and access the impact of our interventions”.
Participating Member States conducted a comprehensive review of the existing AMR Stewardship Regional Guidance document and evaluation of Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) and AMR Surveillance assessment tools by:
- Sharing best practices in executing Antimicrobial Stewardship programs and implementing AMR surveillance systems in their countries,
- Identifying regional priorities for AMS and AMR Surveillance and
- Establishing a regional AMR technical working group, with intentions to replicate the initiative in other African regions and enhance Member States relations, is a key outcome of the gathering.
This five-day workshop was hosted by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kenya. Fifteen (15) East and Southern African countries namely: Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe attended the meeting.
About Africa CDC
Africa CDC is an autonomous health agency of the African Union which supports Member States in their efforts to strengthen health systems and improve surveillance, emergency response, prevention and control of diseases. Learn more at: http://www.africacdc.org
About the ECSA-HC
The East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC) is an inter-governmental health organization established in 1974 to foster and promote regional cooperation in health among member states. The ECSA Health Community works with countries and partners to raise the standard of health for the people of the ECSA region by promoting efficiency and effectiveness of health services through cooperation, collaboration, research, capacity building, policy development and advocacy. To learn more about ECSA-HC visit their website at https://ecsahc.org.
For media and technical inquiry, please contact:
Dorothy Njagi| Senior Communication Officer- Policy, Health Diplomacy & Communication | Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention| African Union| email: email: NjagiD@africa-union.org | Website: www.africacdc.org| Addis Ababa| Ethiopia| Facebook | Twitter
Nomsa Portia Mulima|Manager Knowledge Management, Monitoring and Evaluation| ECSA Health Community| email: nomsam@ecsahc.org| website: https://ecsahc.org| Arusha|Tanzania|Twitter|Facebook
For more information:
Dr Yewande Alimi | One Health Unit Lead | Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention| | African Union| email: amrafricacdc@africa-union.org| | email: africacdc@africaunion.org| Website: www.africacdc.org| AddisAbaba| Ethiopia| Facebook | Twitter
Dr Evelyn Wesangula | Senior Antimicrobial Resistance Specialist | ECSA Health Community | Email: ewesangula@ecsahc.org | website: https://ecsahc.org| Arusha |Tanzania |Twitter | Facebook
