19 March 2021, Monrovia – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the technical working group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) conducted a 3-day workshop aimed at improving awareness and promoting stewardship among the leadership of  all sectors identified in the report as lagging behind in implementation of NAP activities. The overall goal was to strengthen implementation of the AMR National Action Plan (NAP).

AMR activities were first initiated in Liberia in 2017 with the development of the National Action Plan (AMR-NAP) and the Technical Working Group (AMR-TWG) as the driver of key activities. Recently, the FAO Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) program facilitated a situational analysis study on AMR and Antimicrobial Use (AMU) in Liberia. One main recommendation was the need to fully involve all main sectoral key players in the AMR-NAP implementation, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Fisheries, Water and Sewage Corporation, Forestry Development Authority (FDA), Ministry of Commerce, private sector, among others.

The workshop that took place from 17-19 March in Monrovia and it was attended by over 65 participants from various sectors and several supporting partners including: USAID, FAO, World Health Organization (WHO), German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ),  Infectious Disease Detection and Surveillance (IDDS) and Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF) among others.

AMR requires efforts from all nationals and many sectors

AMR is a complex issue of global concern with potentially dramatic health and economic consequences. Resistant infections kill one person every minute and resistant pathogens are spreading between people and animals, and through food, water, waste, and soils, threatening food production and endangering human health and the health of wild, domesticated and farmed animals. According to the AMR review, the global economy may lose more than USD 10 trillion dollars annually by 2050 because of AMR, if no actions are taken.

Since 2017, the One Health approach has documented tremendous progress in raising awareness of emerging One Health issues, particularly antimicrobial resistance (AMR). For example, on International One Health Day 2019, human, animal and environmental health professionals, as well as media and development partners, gathered across the country to raise awareness of AMR and encourage best practices among public health workers and policymakers to prevent the further emergence and spread of AMR.

At the end of the workshop, the participants expressed that their knowledge and skills on AMR and AMU activities in Liberia was improved and that they clearly understood the roles of the various stakeholders in the implementation of the NAP. Participants also developed a roadmap to advance the activities of the AMR-TWG and an improved coordination structure within the TWG was created (5 sub-committees with specific Terms of Reference (TORs) were established, namely  the AMR National steering committee; Laboratory and surveillance; Stewardship and Awareness, research and education committee).

In order to tackle the AMR issue in a holistic approach, FAO, WHO and OIE is supporting member states to develop and implement their National AMR Action Plans based on the AMR Global Action Plan developed by WHO with the support of FAO and OIE. Further, FAO has developed an AMR action plan with four pillars: (i) improve awareness on AMR, (ii) develop capacity for surveillance and monitoring of AMR and AMU, (iii) Strengthen governance, and (iv) promote good practices in food and agricultural systems including the prudent use of antimicrobials. The FAO AMR action plan supports the WHO-led GAP to promote a better AMR mitigation strategy in the food and agriculture sectors.

Contact

Yanira Santana

Reporting and Outreach Officer

FAO ECTAD West and Central Africa Office

email: [email protected]