AMR surveillance actors during data presentations.
Over these two days, thirty or so people involved in the national AMR surveillance system were brought together for the validation of AMR surveillance data from each outpost laboratory. The goal of this workshop was to present the year’s data, gather amendments made by participants in order to have them validated, and develop improvement recommendations for AMR surveillance.
Thanks to the Whonet software, the data had been analyzed prior to the workshop in order to highlight strengths and weaknesses, as well as improvement strategies. The participants then took part in presentations of data from each laboratory, as well as plenary discussions. The workshop concluded with a status report for each facility and a summary to improve surveillance.
As a result of the workshop, the Department of biomedical analysis laboratories benefits from a validated 2022 AMR laboratory surveillance database, as well as recommendations aimed at improving the laboratory surveillance of antimicrobial resistance.
The annual AMR surveillance report (2022) will then be drafted and the data transferred to the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS).
This AMR laboratory surveillance allows us to assess the scope of this public health issue, monitor the impacts of the main multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, identify emerging resistance trends, and develop and assess measures to prevent and tackle MDR bacteria.
Context
The emergence and propagation of antimicrobial resistance poses a growing threat to global public health.
In fact, in Burkina Faso, the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a national priority, ultimately leading in 2017 to the development of a multi-sector action plan to tackle AMR. The implementation of this plan has resulted in the creation of an AMR laboratory surveillance system, the development of normative and regulatory documents, and the training of people involved in surveillance. This plan, which was completed in 2020, has been revised with a focus on strengthening AMR laboratory surveillance.
On a national level, the electronic transmission of AMR surveillance data by outpost laboratories to the Department of biomedical analysis laboratories (DL) began in 2018. As part of this surveillance, the data transmitted to the DL will be validated on an annual basis before the drafting of the AMR surveillance summary report.
As in 2021, the Department of biomedical analysis laboratories benefited, in this regard, from the technical and financial support provided by RESAOLAB for the organization of the 2022 AMR laboratory surveillance data validation workshop.
About RESAOLAB
A system of medical biology laboratories providing high-quality services is an essential requirement for improving population health. RESAOLAB – the West African Network of Biomedical Analysis Laboratories – is the first regional programme in West Africa to provide a response to this public health concern. Designed with West African healthcare stakeholders, it takes into consideration all the factors affecting the laboratories’ governance and performance. Its objective is to improve the quality of medical biology services in these seven West African countries, by reinforcing their laboratory systems with a multifaceted regional approach.
RESAOLAB is an innovative network that aims to enhance access to quality diagnostics for vulnerable people in seven West African countries. The project was initiated by the Mérieux Foundation in 2009, in collaboration with the Ministries of Health of Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. Four countries joined the network in 2013: Benin, Guinea, Niger and Togo. The project entered its third phase in 2019 as part of a partnership between the Mérieux Foundation and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), in order to continue to reinforce laboratory systems.
Since its launch in 2009, RESAOLAB has enabled the deployment of major programmes for ongoing training activities, the construction and provision of equipment for training and quality assurance laboratories and the introduction of epidemiological surveillance systems.
The network has been heavily involved in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis from 2020 onwards. Thanks to an additional grant awarded by the AFD (Agence Française de Développement), RESAOLAB made it possible to develop response strategies for laboratories, by drawing on its expertise with partners.