“Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance: Key Insights from the RBA Initiative AMR Webinar”
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global threat that has the potential to jeopardize the progress made in modern medicine. On Friday 21st April 2023, the RBA Initiative hosted an AMR webinar as part of its strategies to address AMR and engage a wider audience through its AMR Webinar series. Well moderated by Teresa Ferrer from the RBA Initiative,the webinar brought together various actors in the AMR field and participants from different countries to virtually participate and learn from expert panelists.
With a focus on promoting a One Health approach to AMR, the webinar attracted a diverse audience of early-career professionals, healthcare practitioners, policymakers, and experts from both the public and private sectors.
Throughout the session, the panelists highlighted the complex nature of AMR and the critical need for a multisectoral approach to tackling the problem. Diriba Mosisa, a technical officer at the Division of Antimicrobial Resistance in the World Health Organization, Geneva, emphasized the need for collaborative action to contain AMR. “AMR is a natural process, but its misuse and overuse of antimicrobials aggravates it. We need to work together to address AMR,” he said.
Khadija Noor Omar, an AMR and Epidemiology specialist with the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, Natural Resources and Livestock in Zanzibar, highlighted the role of the animal sector in the emergence and spread of resistance organisms. “In the animal sector, most antibiotics are used as prophylaxis, and antibiotics are used without professional insight. All these accelerate the emergence and spread of AMR,” she said. Khadija stressed the importance of implementing proper infection prevention control measures, such as vaccination, to prevent AMR in the first place.
Meanwhile, Mirko Ancillotti, a post-doc researcher at Uppsala University in Sweden, highlighted the moral responsibility that individuals hold when it comes to the use of antibiotics and resistance. “AMR is a moral problem because we don’t do enough to optimize antibiotic use. There is a tendency to think AMR is a problem of the future when it is happening now. Human behavior has influenced AMR,” he said.
As the discussion continued, the panelists and participants alike stressed the need for increased awareness and action to contain AMR and and the role that young people can play in finding solutions.While the World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) is a vital opportunity to raise awareness and knowledge of AMR, Diriba Mosisa emphasized that much more needs to be done to meet the objectives of both the Global Action Plan on AMR (GAP) and National Action Plans on AMR (NAP).
Michael Mosha, project lead for the RBA Initiative, thanked all the attendees for their participation and the expert panelists for sharing their knowledge and insights. “We are excited about the next edition of the RBA Initiative AMR Webinar and look forward to continued collaboration and action to contain AMR in Tanzania and beyond,” he said.
With AMR posing a significant threat to global health and development, the RBA Initiative AMR Webinar in April, was an important step towards raising awareness and promoting action to tackle this growing problem. As the panelists noted, the fight against AMR requires a collaborative, multisectoral approach that brings together stakeholders from across the public and private sectors to develop and implement effective strategies for containing this global health crisis.
We can all work towards a future where AMR is no longer a threat to public health and development