The African Union Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance has published a new report on ‘Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices on Antimicrobial Use, Resistance, and Stewardship in Africa’. The report has been launched during World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2021 to the need for awareness on Antimicrobial Resistance in Africa and to call for stewardship in the use of antimicrobials.
(See and download the technical report via: http://repository.au-ibar.org/handle/123456789/1153).
Excerpts from the report note that Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a rapidly emerging challenge in Africa and around the world that threatens the viability of the human, animal, and environmental health sectors and agriculture/food-producing and pharmaceutical industries1. Main drivers of AMR include the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials; limited access to high quality, affordable, and clinically appropriate antimicrobial therapies; lack of regulation around antimicrobial use (AMU); poor infection and prevention control (IPC); lack of biosecurity and hygiene measures; and the lack of access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure2. Insufficient awareness and knowledge of AMR among key stakeholder groups such as human and animal healthcare providers, pharmacists, farmers and livestock owners, and the general public may also indirectly drive AMR; however, to date, there remains only a weak evidence base assessing the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of/towards AMR and its drivers among these stakeholder groups. Furthermore, many national action plans for AMR developed by African Union (AU) member states call for baseline and continuous assessment of KAP among their national populations, but few countries have carried out such activities.
To begin to fill this gap, the AU Taskforce on AMR in partnership with the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP) and funded by the Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (TEPHINET), developed a series of standardized surveys to assess KAP among key AMR stakeholder groups involved in the use, prescription, and distribution or sale of antimicrobials for human or animal uses in Africa. Specifically, key stakeholder groups targeted for surveying included:
1. Healthcare workers including physicians, nurses, laboratory technicians, and clinical support staff;
2. Pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and drug store owners;
3. Farmers and livestock owners;
4. Veterinarians and other animal health providers; and
5. The general public.
Beginning in August 2021, surveys were disseminated across the continent with targeted subnational and national surveying efforts in 15 countries. This interim report describes select, preliminary results from surveying activities among the lay/general population in those 15 countries between 01 August and 30 September 2021. Subnational, national, and continental survey activities across all stakeholder groups will continue through December 2021. An update to this interim report describing full results across all stakeholder groups will be published in March 2022.
