Antimicrobial use (AMU) contributes to the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a serious threat to animal and public health. Interventions to address this challenge in all One Health sectors are urgently needed. The Management of animal diseases and antimicrobial use by information and communication technology to control antimicrobial resistance in East Africa (MAD-tech-AMR) project focuses on the poultry sector in Kenya and Uganda and aims to provide an information and communication technology (ICT) framework for improved monitoring and control of AMU and AMR in livestock in low- and middle-income countries. 

The project is implemented through a consortium led by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The International Livestock Research Institute leads project activities in Kenya in collaboration with the University of Nairobi, and Makerere University leads project activities in Uganda. In Kenya, Kajiado and Machakos counties were selected as the main study sites.

The objectives of the MAD-tech-AMR project are to:

• characterize current use of veterinary drugs, including key actors and critical aspects preventing optimal AMU, in poultry production in East Africa; 
• develop and pilot-test an ICT framework to monitor AMU and disease prevalence in poultry, improving diagnostic capability and AMU; and
• assess the impact of improved monitoring and animal health support in urban and peri-urban poultry production in Kenya and Uganda.

A workshop to discuss the ICT framework was held on 28–30 June 2022 in Machakos, Kenya. The Directorate of Veterinary Services, county veterinary and livestock departments (Machakos and Kajiado), the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, pharmaceutical companies, feed industry, poultry farmers and agrovet-veterinary outlets were the key stakeholders invited to the workshop, to discuss the Animal Disease Information System (ADIS).

ADIS is a key ICT output of the project. The workshop was an opportunity to present the system and allow stakeholders to provide inputs before its finalization and testing in the field. The June 2022 workshop was a follow up to a virtual stakeholder engagement in 2021 during which findings from the baseline study were presented and discussed.

Access the workshop report here

Citation

Mutua, F., Boqvist, S., Onono, J., Mugisha, L. and Sternberg, S. 2022. Information and communication technology framework for improved monitoring and control of antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance. Workshop report. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.