Regional Workshop on Advancing WOAH’s AMR Standards in Veterinary Practice

The Regional Representation of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) for Africa, in collaboration with the WOAH Capacity-Building Department (CBD), organised two regional workshops on advancing WOAH’s standards on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in veterinary practice—one for English-speaking countries and the other for French-speaking countries. These workshops brought together representatives from Members’ veterinary education establishments (VEE) and veterinary statutory bodies (VSB).

Held in Nairobi from 8 to 10 April and from 13 to 15 April, the workshops convened participants from 19 English-speaking countries and 17 Francophone countries, respectively. Participants engaged in active reflection on ways to strengthen veterinary practices in addressing AMR across the African continent, with a particular focus on enhancing its integration into veterinary curricula and continuous professional development. The workshops provided an immersive platform for interaction, knowledge exchange, and in-depth reflection, with the overarching objective of strengthening regional capacity to implement WOAH standards on AMR and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in veterinary education, continuing professional development, and professional practice, integrated within a One Health framework.

Prior to the in-person event, registered participants were enrolled into the WOAH eLearning platform and were invited to complete several eLearning modules. As part of this process, participants were also encouraged to complete the initial learner self-assessment associated with the AMR modules, as a reflective exercise to familiarise themselves with key concepts and terminology. In the end, based on the satisfaction survey, 85 % of English-speaking participants completed the learning modules entirely or in part (83 % for the French speaking group).

Three days of technical exchange and immersive learning:

Over the three days, participants benefited from the expertise of international and regional specialists, who presented WOAH-aligned tools, e-learning platforms, and regional experiences. These contributions highlighted practical opportunities to strengthen the integration of AMR and AMS considerations into national activities, particularly within veterinary curricula and continuous professional development programmes.

A participatory and interactive approach:

Beyond the technical presentations, participants engaged in a series of reflective group activities and interactive sessions designed to foster collaboration, encourage the exchange of experiences, and deepen collective insight. These immersive engagements enabled participants to better identify context-specific challenges and opportunities related to AMR and AMS. Highly valued by attendees, the interactive sessions not only helped participants become more familiar with relevant content and shared experiences but also introduced diverse pedagogical approaches to enhance learning and knowledge retention.