Health officials and policymakers from 16 countries in East and Southern Africa are meeting in Nairobi amid concern about the rising burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
The meeting which ends on Friday, aims to devise collaborative strategies and a unified approach to combat the growing threat of rising resistant strains of bacteria hence safeguarding public health in the region.
Antimicrobial resistance threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi.
The meeting brings together officials from Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, WHO, USAID, US-CDC, directors general of health from various countries and other key health policymakers.
The 16 countries represented include Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Tanzania, Comoros, Seychelles, South Africa, Mauritius, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, South Sudan, Djibouti and Mozambique.
Some of the key areas of discussion include surveillance and laboratory systems strengthening, a review of the regional treatment guidelines for common infections, the need to come up with regional priorities for resistance surveillance and funding opportunities.
Health CS Susan Wafula who officially opened the conference acknowledged that antimicrobial resistance is a global crisis, an urgent and multifaceted challenge that demands undivided attention.
“Over the past century, antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents have revolutionised healthcare, saving countless lives from infectious diseases,” she said.
“Yet, the misuse and overuse of these life-saving drugs have triggered the rise of resistant strains of bacteria, rendering some treatments ineffective.”
She called for concerted efforts to rise to the challenge, adding that united efforts will determine the fate of millions of people who would otherwise be affected by the rising resistance to microbial.
According to WHO, AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.
As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spread to others.
