Global coordinated action plan against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) needed by 2015 - WHO

Contributed by: Dr. Akilesh Ramasamy& Dr. Tamhankar

“We must act urgently. The world is heading for a post-antibiotic era which will be devastating in this age of emerging infectious diseases. If we do not use antibiotics rationally, we will lose the power to fight common infections and minor injuries. We need to step up efforts to prevent antimicrobial resistance and change how we prescribe and use antibiotics,” - Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia. (Source: WHO)

The World Health Organization called upon Member States of the South-East Asia Region to scale up national action plans to combat this daunting public health threat at a four-day regional meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Jaipur. WHO has prioritized antimicrobial resistance issues due to its vast health, political and economic implications.

World Health Assembly wants a global action plan against antimicrobial resistance to be developed by WHO by 2015. 

The plan will be organized around the five main areas of concern:

• Awareness
• information on the magnitude of the problem
• Economic Impact
• Rational use of antimicrobials
• Infection prevention

"Antimicrobial resistance: global report on surveillance" published in early 2014 has focused on nine different bacteria responsible for common as well as serious diseases such as bloodstream infections (sepsis), diarrhoea, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and gonorrhoea with resistance to "last resort" antibiotics being reported all over the world. (PDF report)