I am a medical doctor from East Africa with experience in clinical management of patients. Here below, I write some of my personal experiences with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the clinic. For confidentiality purposes, the names used are not the real names of the actual patients although the below events truly happened.

Barry, a young energetic male, was full of life and looking forward to marrying the girl of his dreams. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB). It is recommended that the treatment for TB should be strictly observed because of how challenging it is to adhere to the drug schedule for (what used to be) a period of 8 months. Barry returned after 2 months of his treatment hoping for a change in the treatment regimen but as fate would have it, instead of a negative test, Barry was still sputum positive and had furthermore developed multi-drug resistant TB. This meant that Barry had to be institutionalized for further treatment. Barry did not live to tell the tale - AMR took his life.

Kenneth, a male in his mid-forties, was newly diagnosed for HIV with a very low immunity level. He was started on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and was admitted because he was too weak. While on the ward, Kenneth developed a urinary tract infection and showed no improvement on empirical treatment. Second line drugs were introduced but he continued to deteriorate. A urine culture result revealed that the bacteria causing Kenneth’s infection were resistant to all available treatments but one that could only be procured from the far West. Neither the institution nor Kenneth’s family could afford the procurement of this drug. The situation was dire! Both the clinical team and his family waited for the inevitable - Kenneth’s life was lost to AMR.

Sam, an enthusiastic ENT surgeon, spent his life saving the lives of other people. At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, he risked his own life taking care of patients in the ICU who fought for dear life. Unfortunately, Sam tested positive for COVID-19 and found himself in the exact spot that he had tried to save others from. He developed pneumonia and became septic. His blood culture revealed a myriad of bacteria that were resistant to generic antibiotics. Doctors came together, fundraised and procured the drugs Sam needed to stay alive. Barely two days later, Sam breathed his last. Even with the available treatments, it was too late - AMR had won!

All the above are classic examples of how debilitating AMR can be. The next time you find yourself in a position where you have a choice, whether it is about how you adhere to antimicrobial medications, how you use them in production or agriculture, or how you dispose of any medicinal substances after use - kindly choose against AMR. In so doing, you will make a good choice not just for yourself, but for someone else around you. Together, we can fight AMR!