Power, energy, and mineral resources adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan has called upon the international community to accelerate their response against the Antimicrobial Resistance, as it was threatening to disrupt a century of progress in medicine.
鈥楢MR is considered the next super pandemic and one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity. We need committed and coherent actions for an accelerated response in combating AMR,鈥� he said.
Fouzul Kabir, also the adviser for road transport and bridges, and railways ministries, was addressing a high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance at United Nations headquarters in New York on Thursday, which was convened by the president of the UN General Assembly.
He said that Bangladesh welcomed the draft political declaration on AMR.
The adviser said that the AMR was leaving a menacing impact on human health, food production, animal health, and the environment. It was a critical challenge that intersected with multiple SDGs, making it a global priority.
鈥楾he Global South has been experiencing an increasing number of multidrug-resistant typhoid and other bacterial diseases. It is estimated that around 5 million people die annually due to AMR, and by 2050 it will result in 10 million,鈥� he said.
鈥楤angladesh is a signatory to the Jaipur Declaration on AMR. Our national action plan on AMR aligns with the WHO global action plan on AMR. We are providing comprehensive AMR surveillance data to the WHO GLASS Platform,鈥� he continued.
He said that Bangladesh had also developed the national strategic plan and the national action plan on AMR 2021-2026 with a 鈥榥ational AMR containment programme鈥�. National AMR surveillance for human health, animal health, and AMC [antimicrobial consumption] surveillance was ongoing.
He said that extensive advocacy, communication, and social mobilisation initiatives had been launched nationwide. 鈥榃e have formed the Bangladesh AMR Response Alliance for rational use of antibiotics.鈥�
Fouzul Kabir said that Bangladesh had taken the model pharmacy scheme, adherence to good manufacturing practices, and elevated the drug act, coupled with the formulation of a national antibiotic policy and a blueprint for national AMS implementation guidelines.
鈥極ne health framework is crucial to addressing AMR. We must adopt a global mechanism where communication, coordination, collaboration, and coalition would be at the centre,鈥� he said.
鈥楤angladesh has a national one health strategy that recognises AMR as a multi-sectoral problem.鈥�
鈥榃e must break institutional silos and work across governments, international organisations, agencies, civil society, and private sectors. We must enhance financial flow, scientific research, and awareness, as well as develop strategies to minimise environmental exposure,鈥� added the adviser.
