Dakar, Senegal - 16 December 2024 – The West African Health Organization (WAHO) and the Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) inaugurates the first general assembly of the West African Regional Initiative for Laboratories (WARIL) to implement External Quality Assessment (EQA) of Laboratories on Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) surveillance (WARIL-EQA-AMR).
This event brings together regional and international experts in Dakar, Senegal, from 16 to 17 December 2024.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global threat to public health, directly affecting morbidity and mortality in many countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. In response to this challenge, the WARIL initiative, in close collaboration with the WAHO Regional AMR Technical Working Group, aims to strengthen laboratory systems in 16 West African countries (ECOWAS + Mauritania) to improve data quality and diagnostic capabilities related to AMR.
This first General Meeting provides an opportunity to:
- Present and validate the WARIL-EQA-AMR project with the participating laboratories and partners.
- Define a clear governance structure for the initiative.
- Strengthen regional collaboration by establishing a sustainable network oflaboratories.
Participants include:
- Microbiologists, scientists and laboratory technicians from participating countries.
- Members of WAHO's Regional AMR Technical Working Group.
- AMR Focal Points in West Africa.
- Representatives of the Global Fund and other key partners.
The event includes plenary presentations, working group discussions and expert panels on strategies to combat AMR.
The partnership between the ECOWAS Fund, PROALAB/KfW, and HeSP/World Bank is commendable, as it facilitated the participation of approximately one hundred attendees in
this workshop.
The WARIL-EQA-AMR General Assembly will be followed by a four-day technical training course at the laboratories of the IPD's Centre for Africa's Resilience to Epidemics (CARE).
Expected results
- Validation of procedures and the project roadmap.
- Creation of a collaborative network with clearly defined objectives.
- Implementation of concrete strategies to ensure the sustainability of the project.