The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has acknowledged that an antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) blueprint developed at the University Hospital, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), could be adapted for use across sub-Saharan Africa, following a recent Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) webinar on antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
The recognition followed a presentation delivered during the GHSA AMR Action Package monthly meeting by Dr. Obed Kwabena Offe Amponsah, a pharmacist and antimicrobial stewardship co- lead at KNUST Hospital, titled “From Project to Programme: Antimicrobial Stewardship Implementation at the University Hospital, KNUST in Ghana.”
Africa CDC officials and AMR experts from several African countries described the KNUST Hospital programme as a practical model for low- and middle-income countries, citing its transition from a small, time-bound project into a fully institutionalised hospital-wide programme.
The antimicrobial stewardship initiative began in 2019 as a research project led by Dr. Amponsah during his postgraduate studies in pharmacy practice.
Initial assessments across hospitals in the Ashanti Region showed high antibiotic use, with more than 60% of inpatients receiving antimicrobials, often without laboratory-guided prescribing.
Based on these findings, hospital management constituted a formal AMS committee with clear terms of reference and a three-year action plan. The programme later received seed funding through the Commonwealth Partnerships for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS), supported by the Tropical Health and Education Trust, enabling the team to strengthen laboratory capacity, train staff and develop stewardship policies.
According to data presented at the webinar, antibiotic use at KNUST Hospital has declined steadily, from about 65% of inpatients in 2021 to 39% by late 2024, while hospital-acquired infections fell from 17.5% to 6.5%.
Requests for microbiology culture and sensitivity testing have increased sharply, supported by investments in automated laboratory systems.
KNUST Hospital now operates an active Antimicrobial Stewardship Programme, with the Director of the University Hospital, Dr. Kwame Ayisi Boateng serving as Programme Lead and Dr. Obed Kwabena Offe Amponsah as Co-lead.
The programme is embedded into hospital governance and linked to infection prevention and control structures, ensuring sustainability beyond external funding.
The initiative has also attracted international attention. The World Health Organization has assessed the hospital’s AMS activities and identified the facility as a potential centre of excellence.
Data generated at KNUST Hospital contribute to Ghana’s national AMR surveillance system and are submitted to the WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS).
Separately, Dr. Ayisi Boateng, Lead of the programme disclosed that the World Health Organization has engaged them as consultants to develop national guidelines aimed at institutionalising antimicrobial stewardship across all health facilities in Ghana. The guidelines are currently under review by the Ministry of Health.
