The Gambia launches nationwide plan to deal with antimicrobial resistance 

Banjul – Two years in the past The Gambia carried out an evaluation to raised deal with the specter of antimicrobial resistance. The evaluation, the nation’s first of its variety, revealed a rising development in multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in addition to rising pathogen resistance to generally prescribed antibiotics. Babanding Sabally, Director of Nationwide Pharmaceutical Providers within the Ministry of Well being, explains the measures being undertaken to deal with this public well being drawback.

What’s the state of affairs of antimicrobial resistance within the nation?
In 2021, a situational evaluation on antimicrobial resistance was performed for the primary time, to benchmark data on antibiotic consumption in hospitals and native communities, tallying it with resistance knowledge gathered at laboratories. 

The evaluation was performed to seek out out extra concerning the larger challenges in addressing antimicrobial resistance, together with restricted consciousness among the many public, lack of analysis, and weak surveillance that cuts throughout the human, livestock and environmental sectors.

It raises issues concerning the progress of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, Prolonged Spectrum β-Lactamase (a situation during which particular enzymes launched by a micro organism neutralize the results of antibiotics) and resistance to some generally prescribed antibiotics. 

The evaluation reveals that whereas well being professionals have higher consciousness of antimicrobial resistance, 90% of hospitals don’t implement antimicrobial stewardship programmes that measure and enhance how antibiotics are prescribed by clinicians and utilized by purchasers. And governance of the treatment use course of in hospitals is weak.

Usually, lack of kit, reagents for assessments, adequately educated personnel and monetary assets has hampered the complete operations of most laboratories within the analysis, therapy and monitoring of antimicrobials and antibiotic residues in steadily consumed meals. 

This evaluation has helped us to put a basis to information and strengthen antimicrobial actions within the nation. 

What measures are being taken to deal with antimicrobial resistance? 
Contemplating the elevated danger posed by antimicrobial resistance, in 2022 The Gambia developed a totally costed Nationwide Motion Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (2023‒2027), which identifies key measures to be applied by 2027 to deal with antimicrobial resistance. The motion plan is consistent with the Nationwide Well being Coverage and covers environmental points extra broadly.

With the achievement of this milestone, the antimicrobial job drive is engaged on implementing the actions of the motion plan. For the reason that growth of the motion plan, the willingness and collaboration from companions concerned within the One Well being strategy have been overwhelmingly constructive. This strategy is a holistic strategy to antimicrobial resistance which focuses on human well being, animal well being points and environmental points. 

The nationwide motion plan ensures that proposed One Well being measures are possible, legitimate and relevant throughout the Gambian context. It acknowledges the necessity for sustainability amid useful resource constraints. 

We hope to reap the benefits of this chance to come back collectively to determine technical working teams and different our bodies to supervise and advance the struggle towards antimicrobial resistance within the nation.

In April 2023 we inaugurated a Nationwide Drug Therapeutic Committee. A part of its mandate is to help within the choice of antimicrobials, implementation of particular interventions to enhance the prescription and use of antimicrobials, growing and updating antibiotic pointers and protocols, growth of insurance policies on antimicrobial procurement, high quality assurance and enchancment of compliance with pointers and protocols. All these interventions are important within the struggle towards antimicrobial resistance. 

We’ve additionally educated one laboratory scientist in The Gambia on the WHO Antimicrobial Surveillance and High quality Evaluation Collaborating Centres Community (WHONET) platform, referred to as International Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS), which goals to standardize worldwide antimicrobial resistance surveillance. This can assist us to undertake the WHONET platform in all microbiology laboratories within the nation and facilitate annual submission of information on antimicrobial knowledge on the GLASS platform and enhance our knowledge administration system. 

What are the following steps?
A laboratory scientist from The Gambia lately participated within the WHO Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing and Biosafety coaching in Johannesburg, South Africa. The coaching will present the chance to be taught new strategies in bacterial identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing and supply updates on necessary world pointers on antimicrobial resistance. This can construct our capability to raised profile antimicrobials.

Future implementation the motion plan might be applied by a coordinated multi-stakeholder platform of collaboration and partnership, shared accountability and transparency over a five-year interval, with periodic evaluations of implementation.

We even have ongoing antimicrobial stewardship on the Edward Francis Small Educating Hospital in Banjul, the one instructing hospital in The Gambia. 

All of the actions and milestones achieved thus far in relation to antimicrobial resistance in te nation have been spearheaded by WHO’s nation workplace in The Gambia, with monetary assist from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.