A first regional training for Middle East on the recently launched AMU data reporting and management system, ANIMUSE, targeting WOAH Focal Points for Veterinary Products and their representatives.
The collection and analysis of the data regarding antimicrobial agents intended for use in animals (AMU), and related supports for the Members for their technical capacity building under the umbrella of Strategy on Antimicrobial Resistance and the Prudent use of Antimicrobials (launched by WOAH in November 2016), have been key areas of WOAH’s initiatives in the fight against AMR.
To strengthen the global efforts of antimicrobial use data collection and analysis by its Members, WOAH has launched a new web-based AMU reporting system the ANImal antiMicrobial USE (ANIMUSE) Global Database. Within the same context, the Middle East region has witnessed a significant event, the Third Global High-level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Muscat, Oman in November 2022. The major outcome of the meeting was the issuance of Muscat Ministerial Manifesto on AMR, which calls for: strengthening national, regional, and global surveillance systems through improved data management, private sector engagement, implementation of data-driven practices, and the reporting of data to the WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance Use Surveillance System (GLASS), the WOAH Animal Antimicrobial Use system (ANIMUSE). The Middle East region will also host the upcoming fourth global meeting in Saudi Arabia in 2024, which requires Members as signatories of the Manifesto to represent a leading example in these systems implementation and role models of high commitment, to scale up and amplify efforts against AMR’s global threat.
The new ANIMUSE Global Database which was globally launched during the 8th round of AMU data collection in 2022/23, is expected to facilitate Members’ instant access to their data, enabling guidance on decisions at the national level. Moreover, National Veterinary Services will be able to conduct easy and accurate online data reporting. An extra advantage of visualizing, analysing, and using the data for their own benefit in the implementation of National Action Plans (NAPs) on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), is made possible through interactive dashboards.
To maximise the benefits of WOAH support and training approaches, to provide members with the essential knowledge and capability to begin using ANIMUSE, WOAH Subregional Representation in Abu Dhabi (SRRAD), together with the Middle East Regional Representation, in collaboration with the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, and WOAH Antimicrobial Resistance and Veterinary Products Department, is organizing this regional training workshop for the Focal Points of Veterinary Products, who are primarily responsible for AMU data collection between 10TH -12TH of May 2023, to enhance their practical skills and capability to begin using this new system.
