With a renewed sense of urgency and commitment, Consummate Health and Sanitation (CHS) has convened a stakeholder’s forum across the country for its 2nd Annual Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Conference, under the timely theme: “The Role of Technology in Mitigating AMR in Liberia.”
The event marked a significant step forward in the national response to AMR, a growing public health crisis threatening to reverse decades of medical progress. Also, it drew experts from the government, academia, civil society and international institutions to leverage innovation and technology to combat drug resistance.
Speaking Sunday, May 25, 2025, the Team Lead of CHS, Martin Forkpah said that the greatest threat to the planet is the belief that someone else will save it. According to him, since its establishment, Consummate Health and Sanitation has made substantial contributions to Liberia’s health landscape; from leading community-based health education campaigns, to promoting water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices in schools and rural communities; stating that CHS has championed preventative health at the grassroots level.
He said, the organization has also played a key role in advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) awareness, actively promotes the One Health approach, integrating human, animal, and environmental health into its programs.
Forkpah explained that CHS’s public engagement has been through radio and multimedia platforms to inform and empower thousands of Liberians every week on critical health topics.
He said that earlier last year, CHS hosted Liberia’s first-ever National Youth AMR Conference, bringing together over 120 young advocates, researchers, and policymakers to exchange ideas and build capacity on antimicrobial resistance.
“We believe that real change starts with conversation, collaboration, and youth-driven innovation,” Forkpah emphasized. Serving as guest speaker, Bakary Sonko, Africa CDC’s Senior Country Representative, praised Liberia’s emerging leadership on AMR and highlighted lessons from across the continent, including South Africa’s real-time lab data systems, Kenya’s integrated DHIS2 AMR modules, and Ghana’s digitized surveillance tools.
“These examples show that digital surveillance, when locally owned and politically supported, can transform national responses to AMR,” Sonko said. He added that CHS took the moment to launch a bold national appeal: that the Annual AMR Conference be formally endorsed by the Ministry of Health, the National Public Health Institute of Liberia, the One Health Platform, WHO, and Africa CDC, as a permanent, multisectoral coordination and innovation platform.
