Serious Gaps Remain even as Countries Step Up to Tackle Antimicrobial Resistance

Countries are making significant steps in tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR), but serious gaps remain and require urgent action.

This is according to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO) which stated that there is a substantial lack of action and data in the environment and plant sectors.

The report revealed that there were insufficient comprehensive systems in place to be used in protecting the environment from the hazards of antimicrobial production.

“This report shows growing global momentum to combat antimicrobial resistance,” said Dr. Ranieri Guerra, Assistant Director-General for Antimicrobial Resistance at WHO. “We call on governments to make sustained commitments across all sectors  –  human and animal health, plant health and the environment – otherwise we risk losing the use of these precious medicines.”

“Supporting low- and middle-income countries to follow the guidance of responsible and prudent use of antimicrobials in animals is an urgent priority,” said Dr. Matthew Stone, Deputy Director General of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). 

Dr. Matthew Stone further noted that implementation of dedicated OIE international standards, appropriate national legislation, and strengthening of veterinary services were essential steps to help all animal health stakeholders contribute to controlling the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance.

From this survey and other sources, the Tripartite (FAO, OIE, and WHO) is aware that 100 countries now have national action plans for AMR in place and a further 51 countries have plans under development, but more needs to be done to ensure that they are implemented.

Only 53 countries report that they have a multisectoral working group that is fully functional, although a further 77 have established such a group. Only 10 countries report that the funding for all actions in the plan is identified and many middle- and low-income countries may need long-term development assistance to implement their plans effectively and sustainably.

Positively, among the top ten chicken-, pork- and cattle-producing countries that responded to the AMR survey, 9 out of 10 have at minimum developed a national action plan; the majority of these have plans in operation with a monitoring arrangement.  

Promising findings include 105 countries with a surveillance system in place for reporting drug-resistant infections in human health and 68 countries with a system for tracking consumption of antimicrobials.  In addition, 123 countries reported that they have policies to regulate the sale of antimicrobials, including the requirement of a prescription for human use – a key measure to tackle overuse and misuse of antimicrobials.