According to the Ministry of Health, in 2019, at least 8,500 Kenyans died from drug resistance to infections by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites.
Health CS Susan Nakhumicha said Kenya’s national policy and action plan for prevention and containment of AMR, is currently in the final stages of review.
“We are currently in the final stages of reviewing version 2.0 of the National Action Plan on AMR. Implementation of the first phase of the national action plan has provided valuable lessons and guided our consolidated national efforts to implement sustainable measures to mitigate any further emergence and spread of AMR through a One-Health Approach,” she said.
Nakhumicha spoke at the regional meeting to review antimicrobial stewardship guidelines and implementation of AMR surveillance, in Nairobi.
Kenya’s plan, guided by a One-Health Approach, aims to mitigate the further emergence and spread of AMR by ensuring equitable access to medicines, diagnostics, and appropriate antimicrobial treatment.
“Over the past century, antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents have revolutionised healthcare, saving countless lives from infectious diseases,” Nakhumicha said.
“Yet, the misuse and overuse of these life-saving drugs has triggered the rise of resistant strains of bacteria, rendering some treatments ineffective. Together, we must rise to the challenge, driven by the understanding that our united efforts will determine the fate of millions.”
The ongoing regional meeting brings together 16 countries.
The event is organised by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the East, Central, and Southern Africa Health Community, aimed to address the urgent and multifaceted challenge of AMR.
AMR focal point for Kenya coordinator Dr Emmanuel Tanui said delegates are expected to collaborate on a regional network for harmonised action against AMR.
"We need to collaborate in the different sectors and countries sharing such experiences on how we can effectively control the spread of AMR,” he said.
The World Health Organization last year declared AMR as one of the top 10 global health threats facing humanity.
Misuse and overuse of antimicrobials are the main drivers in the development of drug-resistant pathogens, WHO said.
Antimicrobials are medicines used to treat infections in people and they include antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitic.
WHO recommends three priority actions to be considered by stakeholders in the fields of immunisation.
The three include, expanding the use of licensed vaccines to maximise impact on AMR, developing new vaccines that contribute to the prevention and control of AMR and sharing knowledge on the impact of vaccines on AMR.
Last month, a new study showed patients admitted in hospitals for more than three days are likely to become resistant to some antibiotics.
The study by Washington State University showed patients who stay in hospitals for over three days, have an increased likelihood of carrying a strain of bacteria that is resistant to a commonly prescribed group of antibiotics.
The study team discovered that 66 per cent of patients admitted to hospitals in Kenya were infected with bacteria resistant to third-generation antibiotics.
According to the study published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal, third-generation cephalosporins antibiotics are usually administered for severe infections.
The resistance to these antibiotics poses restricted treatment alternatives for patients with certain bacterial infections.
The lead researcher was Sylvia Omulo, an assistant professor at WSU's Paul G. Allen School for Global Health.
Prof Douglas Call, who was the corresponding author for the publication, said individuals who have interactions with the healthcare system are more likely to carry these bacteria, but the underlying reasons are still unknown.
“To distinguish between causation and correlation, we require longitudinal tracking of the same individuals over time, along with documenting how their colonisation status changes with different behaviours. Studies to address these questions are currently being established and will be conducted in the upcoming year,” Call said.
