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Turning the tide against antimicrobial resistance in Africa

Jimmy Nkaiwuatei is the Head of Research, Discovery and Innovations at Students Against Superbugs Africa, a youth-led organization tackling the problem of antimicrobial resistance through education and outreach in Africa.

One day in 2019, I accidentally came across a schoolmate at the university, and while we were chatting together, I learnt about his great interest in AMR. We held further discussions about this interesting topic and our common aspirations to make a difference by raising awareness of this issue among local African communities. After meeting other students in Kenya in health seminars with a shared interest in AMR, we built a network and our discussions revealed the huge knowledge gap regarding AMR and proper handling of antimicrobials among African communities close to us, especially in rural areas. From daily interactions with our parents and neighbours, we noticed that people shared antibiotics, these drugs were used without proper diagnosis and treatment courses were unfinished. Such behaviours, linked to the spread of AMR, highlighted a dire need to promote antimicrobial stewardship among local communities and the broader public. We set up Students Against Superbugs (SAS) Africa in response. We started our AMR activities in Kenya, but later expanded to other countries in Africa through the student network we had built across the continent.

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  1. Students Against Superbugs Africa, Nairobi, Kenya

    Jimmy Nkaiwuatei

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Nkaiwuatei, J. Turning the tide against antimicrobial resistance in Africa.
Nat Microbiol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01508-6

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  • Published: 19 October 2023

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01508-6

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