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Improving communications for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Africa: How should we move forward?

FSN Forum in Africa report of activity No. 16












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    Booklet
    Corporate general interest
    Africa Regional Strategy on Antimicrobial Resistance Communications and Advocacy 2022
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    Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when germs, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to antimicrobials – antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitic agents – making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. Antimicrobial resistant germs are found in people, animals, food, plants and the environment (in water, soil and air). They can spread from person to person or between people and animals,including from food of animal origin. While AMR occurs naturally over time, usually through genetic changes, the main drivers of AMR include the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in human health and agriculture; lack of access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) for both humans and animals; poor infection and disease prevention and control in healthcare facilities and farms; poor access to quality, affordable medicines, vaccines and diagnostics; lack of awareness and knowledge; and weak enforcement of legislation. Minimizing the emergence and spread of AMR requires a coordinated, focused multisectoral and multinational effort. The Africa Regional Strategy on Antimicrobial Resistance Communications and Advocacy was developed to serve as a guide for African countries to improve awareness of AMR and its consequences in Africa, to promote careful use of antimicrobials among key stakeholders, and to support countries to communicate on AMR in a consistent manner.
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    Guideline
    Antimicrobial resistance monitoring and surveillance guidelines for food-producing animals and their products in Eastern Africa 2024
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    This publication is a building block of the Eastern Africa antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance roadmap that was described in April 2019, by AMR experts from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. The roadmap is presented in chapter six of this document. The national AMR experts came together in a regional meeting organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and also attended by other national, regional and international organizations such as the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-Kenya, University of Nairobi (UON), Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), World Animal Protection (WAP) and African Union-Interagency Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR). The aim of the roadmap is to set out the processes, tools and coordination that technical experts and decision-makers from within national governments in East Africa agreed should be undertaken at regional level to support development and implementation of national AMR surveillance strategies and plans.
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    Meeting
    Meeting document
    Joint FAO/OIE/WHO Expert Workshop on Non-Human Antimicrobial Usage and Antimicrobial Resistance: Scientific assessment
    Geneva, December 1 – 5, 2003
    2003
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    Antimicrobial agents are essential drugs for human and animal health and welfare. Antimicrobial resistance is a global public health concern that is impacted by both human and non-human antimicrobial usage. Antimicrobial agents are used in food animals, including from aquaculture, companion animals and horticulture to treat or prevent disease. Antimicrobial agents are sometimes used in food animals to promote growth. The types of antimicrobials used are frequently the same as, or closely rela ted to, antimicrobials used in humans.

    The expert workshop concluded that there is clear evidence of adverse human health consequences due to resistant organisms resulting from non-human usage of antimicrobials. These consequences include infections that would not have otherwise occurred, increased frequency of treatment failures (in some cases death) and increased severity of infections, as documented for instance by fluoroquinolone resistant human Salmonella infections. Evidence shows th at the amount and pattern of non-human usage of antimicrobials impact on the occurrence of resistant bacteria in animals and on food commodities and thereby human exposure to these resistant bacteria. The foodborne route is the major transmission pathway for resistant bacteria and resistance genes from food animals to humans, but other routes of transmission exist. There is much less data available on the public health impact of antimicrobial usage in aquaculture, horticulture and companion an imals.

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    The brief will be uploaded in the Sustainable Food Value Chain Knowledge Platform website http://www.fao.org/sustainable-food-value-chains/home/en/ and it will be distributed internally through ES Updates, the Sustainable Food Value Chain Technical Network and upcoming Sustainable Food Value Chain trainings in Suriname, Namibia, HQ and Egypt.
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    The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021
    Transforming food systems for food security, improved nutrition and affordable healthy diets for all
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    In recent years, several major drivers have put the world off track to ending world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. The challenges have grown with the COVID-19 pandemic and related containment measures. This report presents the first global assessment of food insecurity and malnutrition for 2020 and offers some indication of what hunger might look like by 2030 in a scenario further complicated by the enduring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also includes new estimates of the cost and affordability of healthy diets, which provide an important link between the food security and nutrition indicators and the analysis of their trends. Altogether, the report highlights the need for a deeper reflection on how to better address the global food security and nutrition situation.To understand how hunger and malnutrition have reached these critical levels, this report draws on the analyses of the past four editions, which have produced a vast, evidence-based body of knowledge of the major drivers behind the recent changes in food security and nutrition. These drivers, which are increasing in frequency and intensity, include conflicts, climate variability and extremes, and economic slowdowns and downturns – all exacerbated by the underlying causes of poverty and very high and persistent levels of inequality. In addition, millions of people around the world suffer from food insecurity and different forms of malnutrition because they cannot afford the cost of healthy diets. From a synthesized understanding of this knowledge, updates and additional analyses are generated to create a holistic view of the combined effects of these drivers, both on each other and on food systems, and how they negatively affect food security and nutrition around the world.In turn, the evidence informs an in-depth look at how to move from silo solutions to integrated food systems solutions. In this regard, the report proposes transformative pathways that specifically address the challenges posed by the major drivers, also highlighting the types of policy and investment portfolios required to transform food systems for food security, improved nutrition, and affordable healthy diets for all. The report observes that, while the pandemic has caused major setbacks, there is much to be learned from the vulnerabilities and inequalities it has laid bare. If taken to heart, these new insights and wisdom can help get the world back on track towards the goal of ending hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition in all its forms.
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    Between 2 and 17 January 2024, following a request by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MoA&F), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in close cooperation with the Food Security Technical Secretariat (FSTS) and the State Ministries of Agriculture, carried out its annual Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission (CFSAM) to estimate the 2023 crop production and assess the food supply situation throughout the 18 states of the country. The report's recommendations are to provide immediate response to the needs of the population most affected by acute food insecurity as well as to support the recovery of the agriculture sector, increasing food production and farmers’ incomes, and enhancing efficiency along the value chain to reduce production costs.