Ohemu Godwin Pius
Microbiology Technology, School of Science Laboratory Technology, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, East-West Road, Port Harcourt 500102, Nigeria.
ACS Infect Dis. 2022 Aug 12;8(8):1377-1380. doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.2c00303. Epub 2022 Aug 2.
The urgent need for Africa, as a continent, to start galvanizing resources and strengthening its capacity to win the fight against the looming threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was once again brought to the limelight by the recent study on the "Global Burden of Bacterial Antimicrobial Resistance" ( , , 629). According to the study, western sub-Saharan Africa is a super-region for AMR, with overall mortality rates due to and associated with AMR standing at 27.3 and 114.8 per 100 000 people, respectively. Putting this in perspective, if the leaders of this region do not take effective action, Africa will indeed be one of the two worst-affected regions, along with Asia, with the possibility of over 4.1 million people dying annually from AMR by 2050. The development of a National Action Plan, as directed by the World Health Organization, provides an important framework for addressing the complex and multi-faceted nature of the rise and spread of drug-resistant bacteria. This paper reviews the AMR National Action Plans of African countries and calls on the leaders of this region to move from paper to action and to look beyond just the reduction of antibiotic consumption and, as a more comprehensive response to the threat of AMR, focus also on expanding access to safe drinking water, bettering sanitary conditions, maintaining effective leadership at all levels of governance, increasing government spending on healthcare services, and strengthening regulatory oversight.
近期关于“全球细菌抗微生物药物耐药性负担”的研究（……，629）再次凸显了非洲大陆迫切需要开始整合资源并增强其能力，以应对迫在眉睫的抗微生物药物耐药性（AMR）威胁。根据该研究，撒哈拉以南非洲西部地区是AMR的一个超级区域，因AMR导致的总体死亡率以及与之相关的死亡率分别为每10万人27.3例和114.8例。从这个角度来看，如果该地区的领导人不采取有效行动，非洲将确实成为受影响最严重的两个地区之一，与亚洲并列，到2050年每年可能有超过410万人死于AMR。按照世界卫生组织的指示制定国家行动计划，为应对耐药细菌的出现和传播这一复杂且多方面的问题提供了重要框架。本文回顾了非洲国家的AMR国家行动计划，并呼吁该地区的领导人将计划从纸面落实到行动上，不仅要着眼于减少抗生素消费，作为对AMR威胁更全面的应对措施，还要注重扩大安全饮用水的供应、改善卫生条件、在各级治理层面保持有效的领导力、增加政府在医疗服务方面的支出以及加强监管监督。
