Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines, making infections harder or impossible to treat. This silent crisis is among the world’s top ten global health threats. AMR makes once-curable infections more difficult and costly to treat, placing immense pressure on health systems and endangering lives. Globally, AMR-related illnesses claimed about 4.71 million lives in 2021. In Ghana, 23,000 deaths were linked to AMR in the same year, including 1,512 deaths in children under five.
Countries around the world, including Ghana, have developed national AMR policies and action plans to combat this threat. While progress has been made, limited funding and insufficient integration into broader health systems have slowed full implementation. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the People-Centred Approach to Address AMR, a new initiative designed to integrate AMR interventions into national health systems, with particular focus on primary health care (PHC). This approach aligns with global and regional frameworks, including the WHO Regional Strategy on AMR and the 2024 UN General Assembly Political Declaration on AMR.
Ghana, recognized for its progress in implementing its national AMR Action Plan and strengthening PHC, was selected as the first country in the WHO African Region to pilot this initiative. Experts from WHO highlighted that embedding AMR interventions into national and subnational PHC policies, governance structures, and monitoring frameworks increases their sustainability and adoption.
From 27–31 October 2025, a high-level WHO mission, co-led by WHO Headquarters, the Regional Office for Africa, and the WHO Country Office in Ghana, conducted an assessment of how AMR interventions are integrated into Ghana’s national health system, emphasizing PHC. The mission included policy reviews, stakeholder consultations, field visits to primary care facilities and community pharmacies, and a three-day national workshop bringing together government agencies, professional bodies, academia, and civil society.
During the mission, WHO observed health workers managing infections, educating patients on responsible medicine use, and coordinating with community pharmacists to monitor antimicrobial consumption. Ghana’s national AMR Focal Person emphasized the country’s commitment to translating recommendations into action, aiming to strengthen PHC systems so that every facility, health worker, and community contributes to preserving the effectiveness of medicines.
The mission concluded with the identification of priority areas for integrating AMR into PHC in Ghana. A technical report is being developed to guide next steps, including short-term technical support to build national capacity. Ghana’s participation in the PHC-AMR initiative represents a key milestone in global efforts to address antimicrobial resistance, demonstrating how people-centred approaches can safeguard life-saving medicines for future generations.
