New project addresses antibiotic-resistance challenge

By Jackson Okata

The National Antimicrobial Stewardship Inter-agency Committee (Nasic) is piloting a health project to create awareness, inspection, prevention and control of pathogens resistant to antibiotics.

The 18-month project will focus on the poultry value chain.

It will involve the setting up of human health and animal health laboratories, purchasing equipment and training animal health experts.

According to Nasic, antibiotic resistance is one of the world’s most pressing animal and human health problems. It results in the failure of disease-causing bacteria to respond to the antibiotics they were previously susceptible to.

This may be through inappropriate use of antibiotics, which hampers animal productivity and prolongs treatment and increases costs. The project will also focus on responsible use of antibiotics to prevent resistance and provide accurate data that will inform decisions at both the national and county levels on the resistant pathogens and how to counter them.