ASPIRE Delegation Advances Preparations for Next Project Phase in Asella August 3rd to 6th 2025

In December 2024, the ASPIRE Consortium received an additional grant from the European Union to further strengthen antimicrobial stewardship, infection prevention, and resistance reduction efforts across sub-Saharan Africa. The expanded project phase is scheduled to begin in March 2026 and will build on the consortium’s ongoing work in Ethiopia and Ghana.

As part of the preparatory activities, a delegation from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich and Jimma Hospital visited Asella Teaching and Referral Hospital from 3–6 August 2025. The visit aimed to coordinate project planning with Arsi University and the University Hospital Düsseldorf, both key partners in the initiative.

During the four-day visit, the delegation engaged in a series of productive meetings, in-depth technical discussions, and comprehensive site inspections. Together with local teams, they outlined concrete steps for implementing core components of the upcoming project stage. Particular emphasis was placed on establishing therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) capacity and developing strong, reliable pathways for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) data reporting, two essential building blocks for effective antimicrobial stewardship.

The visit marked an important milestone in the lead-up to the new project phase. Beyond defining operational priorities, it further strengthened the long-standing partnerships among the involved institutions and laid a solid foundation for the successful continuation of ASPIRE’s work in the region.