QUESTION: At national, regional, and continental levels, who do you think should take leadership and responsibility for awareness and advocacy activities on AMU and AMR?
RESPONSE: Communication on AMU and AMR is typically disjointed between the different institutions that deal with the agriculture sector, especially in the LDCs of Sub-Saharan Africa. Recall that in most SSA countries, there are separate ministries for Agriculture Livestock, Fisheries, Forestry, etc., with very little synergy amongst them. This will also mean the potential to convey conflicting information. There is, therefore, need to undertake the following to improve communication:
(a) Creation of an Inter-ministerial task force on communication (involving all ministries associated with Agriculture, Health, Communication) with respect to AMU and AMR to harmonize the message; (b) make use of both government-owned public national broadcasting organizations, whether radio or TV, which are cost-effective and fulfills the mandate of social responsibility; (c) increased involvement of the leadership of farmer umbrella organizations or associations at the national or regional levels.
Synergy amongst these institutions will significantly contribute to timely, effective and in-depth communication of issues of AMU and AMR in the LDCs of SSA.
Prof. Ernest MOLUA