On Friday, 24.11.23, the Department of Clinical Microbiology of the School of Medicine & Dentistry, KNUST with Educational Grant support from Pfizer Specialties Ltd, held a symposium on Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness at the KCCR Auditorium. Themed “The Role of the Laboratory Scientist in curbing Antimicrobial Resistance”, the workshop capped the celebration of the #WorldAntimicrobialAwarenessWeek.

Presenting the purpose of gathering, the symposium convenor Dr Alex Owusu-Ofori emphasised the relevance of celebrating the World AMR Awareness Week 2023 and acknowledged the support Pfizer had given to ensure that the symposium takes place on the last day of the celebration of World AMR week.

Chaired by Prof. Mohamed Mutocheluh, HoD of the department of Clinical Microbiology, participants held lectures and conversations with Dr Alex Owusu-Ofori, Head of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee, KATH and Dr Michael Owusu, Senior Research Fellow at KCCR, who discussed the present picture of AMR in Ghana as well as the role of the laboratory scientist in the prevention of this ‘silent pandemic’.

There were also presentations by Dr Anthony Enimil – Lead, Climate Change & Child Health Project and Dr Vitus Burimuah from the School of Veterinary Medicine who discussed strategies in overcoming AMR related to human and animal health respectively.

The key takeaway was that every individual in all capacities of healthcare had a substantial role to play in safeguarding antibiotics as well as promoting awareness of this critical issue.