Côte D’ivoire Launches First-ever AMS Multisectoral Plan to Combat AMR

In Côte d’Ivoire, uncontrolled use of antibiotics for human and animal health is encouraging the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the rise of health care-acquired infections. These include high rates of resistance for the bacteria Enterobacteriaceae, which is responsible for E. coli and salmonella, as well as germs that can lead to staph infections, pneumonia, and urinary tract infections, according to data from the Institut Pasteur in Côte d’Ivoire.

MTaPS supported the country’s AMR Technical Working Group in setting up its first-ever national Multisectoral Technical Committee on Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS). It aims to optimize antimicrobial management in the human, animal, and environmental sectors in accordance with the World Health Organization’s One Health approach.

Louis Ketremindie, veterinarian and vice-chair of the new committee, said, “If we do nothing about the uncontrolled use of antimicrobials for human and animal health, this inappropriate use will lead to levels of resistance that…could reduce treatment options for patients and also negatively impact our country’s health care system.”

Representatives from the ministries of health, agriculture, animal resources, and the environment conducted a situational analysis of antimicrobial management and, based on the results, defined a new national AMS policy and a 2021–2025 multisectoral action plan.

The team also developed guidelines for AMS in health care facilities. Training for health workers has begun and is ongoing, which should improve the rational use of antimicrobials and quality of care in Côte d’Ivoire and will promote better health outcomes for patients with diseases that require medicines at risk for resistance.

“Implementing antimicrobial management guidelines in health care facilities should enable prescribers and providers to better navigate the choice of antimicrobials in treatment to improve the cure rate of infectious diseases.”

-Louis Ketremindie

The next step will be using these tools as a basis for developing training materials to build the capacity of Drug and Therapeutics Committees and health care workers in AMS. The National Antimicrobial Stewardship Action Plan will guide AMS activities implementation in the human, animal, agricultural, and environmental sectors. The national focal point on AMR from the Ministry of Higher Education, Professor Nathalie Guessennd, said the collaboration was a first for the country and reflected shared goals and commitment. “A few years ago, no one could have imagined that all these sectors could work together,” she said.