ReAct Africa’s activities are anchored within the countries’ AMR National Action Plans (NAPs) and the mandates of the OIE, WHO, FAO, Africa CDC frameworks for addressing AMR which countries have endorsed.
According WHO AFRO region, 39 countries report having a NAP in place, while 5 are awaiting government approval and the rest are yet to develop their plans. While it is very encouraging to see more African countries develop their NAPs to tackle AMR, not all plans have been developed following a due process that considers a detailed situational analysis, takes into account multi-sectoral engagement and a One Health approach.
Challenges of NAP Implementation
For those with developed plans, NAP Implementation has been a challenge due to a lack of technical expertise, inadequate resources, lack of political will by government leaders to invest and support NAP activities, lack of understanding of the impact of AMR at country level and the effect it will have on national progress, the economy, on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), lack of surveillance data, weak coordination among relevant ministries and an overall lack of comprehension of AMR by the public health as mentioned above. Furthermore, some NAPs have not been anchored in country policies that would allow for their inclusion in budgeting.
The Need to Support NAPs
Countries need support with revaluating their NAPs, prioritization of NAP activities, review of current running programs and budgets that are connected to AMR and mainstreaming AMR in these running programs. Consequently, supporting NAP development and implementation contributes to health outcomes of communities, the attainment of UHC and affects a number of SDGs on poverty reduction, health, gender equality, clean water, partnerships, etc.
ReAct Africa is uniquely positioned to influence policies and practices at country and regional level and has supported a number of countries in Africa to develop and implement their NAPs. These countries include, Ghana, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Tanzania and Malawi.
List of National Action Plans of AMR in the African Region
Burkina Faso
National Action Plan-Burkina Faso (PDF)
Ethiopia
Madagascar
Mauritius
Sierra Leone
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanzania
Zimbabwe