ountries in the Asia Pacific region on Saturday pledged to jointly combat the increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance, which transcends borders and endangers global health by making life-saving antibiotics ineffective.
In a communique issued by the Tokyo Meeting of Health Ministers on Antimicrobial Resistance, health ministers from 12 countries in the region agreed to improve the way information on antimicrobial resistance is collected and shared to guide effective policies and actions.
They also agreed to strengthen and harmonize how their nations regulate the production, sale and use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines. They said they were ready to take innovative approaches to stimulate research and development of new antibiotics, diagnostic tests, vaccines and other technologies.
World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for South-East Asia Poonam Khetrapal Singh said antimicrobial resistance was a threat to global security and economic stability.
“It is a looming health and economic crisis that requires both global and local solutions. Since drug resistant genes can travel, countries with higher levels of economic and social organization have a stake in the success of measures taken by less developed countries. In the fight against antimicrobial resistance, we are only as strong as the weakest link,” she told ministers during the meeting.
Khetrapal Singh further said antibiotic resistance was one of the biggest threats to human health today. “Having effective antimicrobials is also critical to the social and economic development of nations. We have a limited window of opportunity to take action and avoid a post-antibiotic era,” she said.
WHO is supporting countries across the Asia Pacific region to take critical steps to preserve the effectiveness of these life-saving medicines.
“We must strengthen health systems’ response and cooperation with the agriculture sector to contain this threat, and improve understanding of the problem among the public. The Tokyo meeting has provided a platform to move forward with this important agenda,” WHO regional director for the Western Pacific Shin Young-soo said.
Asia Pacific region populations are at higher risk for emerging drug-resistant infections, evident by the spread of multidrug resistant strains of malaria and tuberculosis, due to rapid economic development and sociodemographic and cultural changes, coupled with their health status.
In the meeting, ministers acknowledged that antimicrobial resistance is a by-product of system failures—from regulation of medicines to agricultural and trade controls, and agreed that strengthening these systems is a critical component of the Sustainable Development Goals.They were also united on the need for urgent action to raise awareness across all sectors to promote responsible use of antibiotics. (ebf)
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