REVIEW article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Antibiotic Resistance and New Antimicrobial drugs
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Combating Antimicrobial Resistance: Focus on Diagnosis, Therapy, and PreventionView all 9 articles
Combating Antimicrobial Resistance in Africa: a strategic roadmap for surveillance, stewardship, and research
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
- 2Lead City University, Ibadan, Nigeria
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Africa stands at a pivotal moment in public health: the continent faces a high and growing burden of infectious diseases driven in part by antimicrobial resistance (AMR), yet remains underrepresented in global clinical research and surveillance initiatives. Despite advances in technology, infrastructure and human capital in some regions, persistent gaps in laboratory capacity, epidemiologic surveillance, data systems, governance, funding and clinical research impede timely detection, containment and evidence-based management of drug-resistant infections. This review synthesizes the current landscape of AMR surveillance and clinical research capacity across African countries, highlighting the major structural and often over-looked barriers and also exemplary local initiatives that demonstrate scalable progress. We argue that linking strengthened AMR surveillance with concerted investment in clinical research, laboratory networks, antimicrobial stewardship, data governance and policy reforms will enable a shift from reactive responses to proactive, system-wide AMR prevention and containment strategies. Drawing on published literature, policy documents and regional case studies, this review proposed a practical, phased roadmap for integrated surveillance-led healthcare reform tailored to African contexts and realities, with concrete recommendations. It also defined actionable priorities and framework to accelerate AMR detection, research, and containment across Africa, ultimately reducing the burden of drug-resistant infections and strengthening health system resilience in Africa.
Keywords: Africa, AMR surveillance, Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), Antimicrobial stewardship, Clinical research capacity, Health system strengthening
Received: 26 Sep 2025; Accepted: 01 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mba and Martins. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ifeanyi Elibe Mba
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