Submission ID 130720
| Issue/Objective | Antibiotic resistance (ABR) disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Although antibiotic stewardship (ABS) is a central pillar of national responses, limited empirical work has examined how stewardship is operationalised through domestic legal frameworks in West Africa. This study assesses the legal architecture governing ABS in Senegal. |
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| Methodology/Approach | We conducted a cross-sectional legal mapping study of national instruments regulating ABS in Senegal. Binding and non-binding legal instruments in force as of December 31, 2024 were systematically identified through structured searches of official legal and regulatory repositories. Instruments were analysed using a predefined coding framework assessing regulatory scope, enforcement and accountability mechanisms, and alignment with One Health (OH) principles. To contextualise the legal mapping findings, we conducted 26 semi-structured interviews with 37 resource persons from various sectors between January and August 2023, in order to better understand the challenges of implementing the instruments in practice. Triangulation of the information enabled an in-depth assessment. |
| Results | Thirty-two legal instruments were identified. Stewardship regulation remains largely centred on pharmaceutical market authorisation and distribution, with limited governance to antibiotic use, prescribing practices, or class-based restrictions. Antibiotics are rarely regulated as a distinct therapeutic category, and no binding measures restrict the use of medically important antibiotics in animal production. The ABS regulatory framework remains predominantly anthropocentric; environmental pathways of resistance receive minimal regulatory attention. Recent reforms have been characterised by the domestication of international soft law instruments and the strengthening of surveillance systems.First, the effectiveness of antibiotic market regulations is constrained by insufficient financial and human resources, contributing to the widespread availability of antibiotics in both formal and informal markets. Second, the obsolescence of certain regulatory instruments, combined with limited enforcement capacity, represents a major obstacle to implementation. Finally, the persistence of fragmented and sector specific responses hinder the operationalisation of integrated ABS grounded in a One Health approach. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | The legal framework governing antibiotic stewardship in Senegal remains outdated and fragmented, and largely centred on market regulation. Strengthening enforcement capacities, updating regulatory instruments, and better integrating OH principles across sectors will be essential to ensure more effective and coordinated responses to antibiotic resistance. |
| Presenters and Affiliations | Mouhamadou Moustapha SOW Gaston Berger University Mouhamadou Moustapha SOW Gaston Berger University Mouhamadou Moustapha SOW Gaston Berger University A.M Viens School of Global Health, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada |
