The report urges the development community to go beyond technical solutions that focus exclusively on the misuse of antimicrobials. We need to redirect development efforts more broadly, so that they become 'AMR-smart.'
July to September 2019 issue provides an overview of activities taking place by the CGIAR AMR hub led by ILRI that has been developed with our partners for this quarter.
Last week the International Livestock Research Institute held the annual planning meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Parellel sessions were hosted by lead scientists to disseminate messages to various staff at the institute. One such session involved disseminating key messages about the role of CGIAR AMR hub and understanding AMR challanges. The participants engaged in role play activities allowing a fruitful discussion and two key messages that resonated amongst all three groups was the need to carry out surveillance to understand the extent of the problem as well as engaging with policymakers to stop the misuse of antimicrobials.
In low- and middle- income countries trends in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in animals are poorly documented and in the absence of systematic surveillance systems, point prevalence surveys present a largely untapped source of information to map trends in AMR in animals. As reported last week by Maryn McKenna, a journalist and contributor for WIRED, the director of the center of disease dynamics, economics and policy in Washington, DC said recently that ‘everyone talks about antibiotics resistance in humans, but no one has been talking about antibiotic resistance in animals’. The comments were in response to the findings of a study looking at the trends of antimicrobial resistance in animals from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) that are poorly documented. Researchers used geospatial modeling to produce maps of AMR in LMICs and give policymakers a baseline for monitoring AMR levels in animals and target interventions in the regions most affected by the rise of resistance.
In early June this year, policymakers, researchers, government and private sector representatives from Kenya, Germany and Uganda met in Uganda to kick-off investments in Uganda’s livestock sector through the #BuildUganda Program which has been funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Corporation and Development (BMZ) and the Consultative Group for International Agricultural and Research (CGIAR) research programs on Livestock and Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). The project entails four components, namely, control and eradication of peste des petits ruminants and other diseases affecting small ruminants, controlling zoonotic disease like Rift valley fever affecting cattle, mitigating the risks of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the poultry value chain and improving veterinary public health at the abattoirs.
Scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) are looking at using phages to kill strains of bacteria that are known to cause disease in poultry farms in Kenya. A collaborative project between the Laval University in Canada, and ILRI, funded through Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the UK government’s Global AMR Innovation Fund managed by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), hope to find alternatives to antibiotics by using phages. The lead scientist, a Canadian virologist, Nicholas Svitek says “it will be very critical to identify and use the best phages that will target the correct bacterial population. We are very excited to be working on such a project and grateful for donors and partners to be able to facilitate such research’.
Launched today by Rose Ademun, Commissioner for Animal Health from the Minister of State for Animal Industry in the Uganda Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), #BuildUganda is a research for development collaboration to prevent and tackle animal diseases and zoonoses in Uganda. Led by MAAIF, and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), it mobilizes national and international research and development partners from Uganda, Kenya and Germany. The five-year program is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the CGIAR Research Programs on Livestock and on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). One of the four components in the #BuildUganda program focuses on the mitigation of antimicrobial resistance in poultry.
Bangladesh is the world’s third largest inland producer of fish and shellfish that contributes to the country’s economic success. In recent years, the aquaculture sector has experienced a high disease burden often associated with an increase in antimicrobial use. In this context, one of the key challenges for Bangladesh Aquaculture is to maintain sustainable production without medicalization. As one of the Fleming Fund listed countries, Bangladesh receives financial support to tackle AMR with a specific focus on surveillance of antimicrobial use, resistant bacteria, and AMR risks.
Dr. Sam Kariuki is the director of research and development at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Nairobi, Kenya and since 2010 has been a partner on the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) projects. In 2009, the global antimicrobial resistance partnerships (GARP)- Kenya was started by the center for disease dynamics, economics and policy (CDDEP) to create a platform for developing actionable policy proposals on antibiotic resistance in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where Dr. Kariuki leads the Kenya program
As reported this week by Andrew Jacobs and Matt Richtel in the New York Times, ‘Kibera residents are prodigious consumers of antibiotics’.
Kibera area, one of Africa’s largest urban slums, is located in Nairobi, Kenya, with a population of around one million. Most people in the slum lack access to running water, electricity and medical care. Diseases caused by poor hygiene are prevalent.
