Meeting report: Antimicrobial stewardship summit for selected Member States in the WHO African region

Overview

The World Health Organization (WHO) organized a two-day summit on antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) for 12 selected member states from the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) region from 25-26 April 2023 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The aim of the summit was to advance the AMS agenda in the region and strategize on optimizing the implementation process.

WHO defines antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) as a coherent set of integrated actions which promote the responsible and appropriate use of antimicrobials to help improve patient outcomes across the continuum of care. The WHO Policy Guidance on Integrated Antimicrobial Stewardship Activities encourages a programmatic approach including elements of good governance, improving access to and regulation of antimicrobials, raising awareness about antimicrobial resistance (AMR), strengthening infection prevention and control (IPC) measures and surveillance of AMR and antimicrobial use. Such integration of related actions is a necessary strategy to mitigate the emergence and spread of AMR, as it is a multidimensional issue with systemic drivers. Since the WHO policy guidance was developed, there has been a need to generate greater awareness among policy makers and public health officials of the WHO AFRO member states in order to secure the needed commitment for the implementation of AMS. The summit was organized by WHO AFRO and WHO Headquarters (HQ) with support of WCO Ethiopia, to address this need.