AMR a global health threat, requires urgent action via one health approach: Anupriya Patel

New Delhi : Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) poses a global health threat, and must be urgently tackled via the ‘One Health’ approach, said Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel on Friday.

She said this while addressing the 4th ministerial high-level global conference on AMR in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“One Health approach fosters cooperation across human, animal, and plant health, as well as environmental and other relevant sectors” -- key to fight AMR, said Patel.

She also outlined a set of practical steps to implement the commitments made in the declaration on AMR and stressed the importance of strengthening surveillance, fostering collaboration, and addressing critical barriers to antimicrobial access.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), bacterial AMR was directly responsible for 1.27 million deaths and contributed to 4.95 million deaths in 2019.

To improve AMR detection and surveillance, Patel “proposed a comprehensive approach” which includes prioritising sustainable financing and research investments to enhance governance in the fight against AMR.

This will boost the “use of data to guide evidence-based antimicrobial usage at both local and national levels,” she added, noting “this would lay the foundation for the creation of integrated and interoperable surveillance systems across sectors.”

Further, this will also establish clear accountability frameworks for effective governance.

The MoS noted that the country also supports the creation of the AMR multi-partner trust fund and the establishment of an independent panel on evidence for action against AMR by next year.

Meanwhile, Patel also proposed local or regional manufacturing hubs and the strengthening of regulatory mechanisms to ensure equitable access to antimicrobials, diagnostics, and vaccines in developing nations, especially in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).

Patel highlighted the need for capacity building in statistical modelling to calculate baseline rates of AMR-related deaths, helping member states track progress towards the global target of reducing AMR-related deaths by 10 per cent as committed in the UNGA Political Declaration.

She also emphasised that the factors contributing to AMR vary across countries and regions, and therefore, actions must be tailored to the local context to effectively address the challenge.

“India remains committed to supporting global efforts in combating AMR while ensuring that solutions are context-specific and sustainable”, Patel said.