Strengthening antimicrobial resistance surveillance in the West African Region: A report on the activities of the WAHO Regional Technical Working Group

Introduction A regional Technical Working Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR-TWG), grounded in the One Health approach, was established in 2018 following an assessment of AMR surveillance systems in West Africa. It’s inaugural meeting in 2019 resulted in a regional roadmap and standardized data collection tools. These were technically validated in 2021 and formally endorsed by the ECOWAS Assembly of Health Ministers in May 2022 in Accra Methods The roadmap, structured around five strategic pillars, aims to harmonize AMR surveillance approaches across ECOWAS member states and support the development of integrated national action plans. Bimonthly virtual and in-person AMR-TWG meetings were held to identify and coordinate priority interventions. Capacity-building efforts focused on key areas such as stakeholder engagement, formation of national AMR task forces, technical training for bacteriology staff, and improved data management. These activities were further strengthened through collaboration with the “West African Regional Initiative for Laboratories” led by the Institut Pasteur de Dakar. Results Since 2019, four in-person AMR-TWG meetings have helped define and update regional priorities. A 2022 workshop improved WHONET data entry capacity. A list of priority bacteria was validated for the region. Advocacy and technical training missions were conducted in four countries. External Quality Assessment panels are now distributed to eleven countries. Seven national reference laboratories have received bacteriology equipment through the PROALAB project. As a result, eleven countries are now enrolled into and four are submitting AMR data to the WHO GLASS platform. Eleven countries are also enrolled in InFARM and are submitting data for One Health. Conclusion Thanks to AMR-TWG’s coordinated efforts and partnerships with WHO, Africa CDC, and the Fleming Fund, WAHO has significantly advanced AMR surveillance in the region. In 2025, support missions will be deployed to four additional countries to further expand and consolidate regional capacity.