AMR+Africa+Diagnostics

Regional stakeholders’ summit held at Isivivana Community Centre, Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa, 30 January 2018

Hosted by the South African Medical Research Council & FIND

Inappropriate use of antibiotics and other medicines is fueling the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) globally and is reducing the effectiveness of the few treatment options we have left to treat severe bacterial illnesses. Currently, 700,000 deaths annually are due to drug-resistant strains of common bacterial infections, HIV and malaria.

South Africa has led the fight against HIV/TB and has some of the most advanced laboratories and capacities in Africa. But AMR is stretching everyone to the limit. What can South Africa do to support innovation throughout the continent to ensure everyone is working together in the fight to stop AMR? What lessons learned can be applied to AMR so we can rapidly deliver the right diagnostics to the right people to save lives? What innovations will empower doctors and patients to change the way we use antibiotics? How can we ensure that we preserve the efficacy of current and new drugs for as long as possible? These are just some of the questions patients, health workers, leadership, researchers and policymakers addressed at this multi-stakeholder summit on diagnosis and antimicrobial resistance.