Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is reaching alarming proportions in Senegal, where nearly 40% of medical prescriptions contain antibiotics, warns infectious disease specialist Dr. Sadikh Badiane. Faced with this silent but devastating threat, the Department of Hospital Quality, Safety, and Hygiene organized an awareness and advocacy day yesterday, mobilizing stakeholders in human, animal, and environmental health around the One Health approach.

AMR occurs when a bacterium evolves and becomes resistant to the antibiotics used to treat it. According to Dr. Badiane, public behavior is an aggravating factor: overprescriptions, self-medication, illicit sales, and uncontrolled veterinary use. "In Senegal, many patients already arrive at the hospital with established resistance. Added to this is the overuse of antibiotics in livestock farming," he emphasizes.

The African context, characterized by easy access to medications and the proliferation of counterfeit products, further exacerbates the phenomenon. For Mame Awa Ndoye, Director of Hospital Quality, Safety, and Hygiene, the consequences are serious: an increase in difficult-to-treat infections, a rise in preventable deaths, and increased pressure on an already fragile healthcare system. "This situation results from the inappropriate and abusive use of antibiotics, self-medication, and over-the-counter sales, as well as their uncontrolled use in veterinary medicine and agriculture. Faced with this threat, our collective mobilization is more necessary than ever in a One Health approach," she insists.

The Secretary General of the Ministry of Health, Serigne Mbaye, points out that, according to the WHO, antimicrobial resistance causes nearly 5 million deaths each year, including 1.27 million directly linked to resistant infections. "In Senegal, as elsewhere, we are seeing a worrying increase in cases of resistant infections, compromising the effectiveness of treatments, lengthening hospitalization times, and increasing mortality and healthcare costs," he warns.

He calls for a synergy of actions: "The fight against AMR is not just the responsibility of the Ministry of Health. It requires the commitment of health professionals, the veterinary sector, pharmacists, laboratories, communities, but also of every citizen who must adopt responsible behavior in the use of medicines."