Post-ATLASS workshop and surveillance planning for antimicrobial resistance in the Kyrgyz food and agriculture sectors

In line with its mandate for food and agriculture sectors and overall antimicrobial resistance (AMR) initiatives, FAO worked with the Government of Kyrgyzstan to assess and support for the establishment and the improvement of laboratory capacities and antimicrobial resistance surveillance. To this extend, an assessment mission using the FAO Assessment Tool for Laboratories and AMR Surveillance Systems (FAO-ATLASS) was conducted in Kyrgyzstan in 2019. The mission recommendations informed future planning to address urgent country needs, including i) the procurement of laboratory reagents and equipment; ii) laboratory training to detect and characterize AMR; iii) support to conduct an AMR surveillance pilot study for baseline information on the prevalence of AMR in the main livestock production systems of the country.

As results became available, FAO in collaboration with the national counterparts is organizing a post-ATLASS and surveillance planning workshop on 3 July 2024 in Bishkek to review the findings of the conducted activities.

The meeting aims to provide a platform to:
• Identify the most appropriate country actions and activities to strategically address the recommendations arising from the last assessment mission using the FAO ATLASS tool.
• Prioritize and set a timeline for each action identified.
• Map available and potential resources that can be accessed to support these actions.
• Identify target audience (high-level officials, policymakers, donors, partners, and others) to convey the progress that need to be made to advance AMR surveillance in the agrifood sectors and develop the advocacy package for the intended audience.