This year Microbiology Updates Conference organised by the Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi in collaboration with the Ministry of Health brought together national and international experts to promote and strengthen One Health governance for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) surveillance in Kenya and the region.
Speaking during the conference Prof Gunturu Revathi Section Head of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Pathology, Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa, quoting the Lancet Commission for Diagnostics, said, “Appropriate antimicrobial prescribing requires access to proper diagnostics services and approximately 47 percent of the global population has little to no access to diagnostics. Diagnostics are central and fundamental to quality health care. This notion is under-recognised, leading to underfunding and inadequate resources at all levels.
The Conference aims to fill critical gaps in the surveillance of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, through various initiatives such as capacity building, research, and surveillance system strengthening to tackle AMR effectively.
Excess antimicrobial usage has been attributed to inadequate disease prevention, high infectious disease burden, availability of substandard drugs, inadequately trained and insufficient health personnel, and poor access to diagnostics and laboratory services to guide treatment.
According to the World Health Organisation, Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the top global public health and development threats. In 2019, it is estimated that bacterial AMR was directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths and contributed to 4.95 million deaths.
In Kenya in 2019, there were 8,500 deaths attributable to AMR and 37,300 deaths associated with AMR. In addition, Kenya has the 177th highest age-standardized mortality rate per 100,000 population associated with AMR across 204 countries.
The Microbiology Conference aims to combat AMR by bringing all the collaborating partners together for networking, actively interacting, enhancing surveillance, strengthening governance, and promoting rational antimicrobial use, thereby mitigating the human and economic burden of AMR regionally and globally.
