Cross-sectoral cooperation called for in response to antibiotic resistance

A parallel session on antimicrobial resistance held on Nov 22 during 9th Global Conference on Health Promotion drew global attention to cross-sectoral cooperation as a way to deal with the overuse of antibiotics.

Avoiding unnecessary overuse of antibiotics is not only the responsibility of the health sector, says Rosy Akbar, minister for Woman, Children and Poverty Alleviation in Fiji. "Our government urges cross sectoral actions to respond to the issue."

Fiji established the professional committee of AMR, which involves various government department, including agriculture, environment and education, according to Akbar.

The problem of antibiotic resistance exists not only in medical procedures, said Katinka de Balogh, senior officer of Veterinary Public Health in FAO.

She noted that inter departmental action is not only the cooperation between various government departments, but is also the awareness and participation of all sectors of society.

Animal husbandry is also a part of causation of antibiotic resistance problems. It is suggested that related companies participate in action to reduce the dependency on antibiotics, under the guidance of corresponding governance framework and legislation, she said.

Antibiotics abuse is very common in the Philippines. But to curb such abuse, the country has made some progress, said Enrique (Eric) Tayag, director of the Bureau of Local Health Systems Development in the Philippines.

After the WHO released the six-policy framework of AMR, the Philippines formulated a national plan in 2016, established a national inter-departmental cooperation committee and developed a clear timetable to solve the problem of antibiotics overuse.

Antibiotic resistance leads to the stagnation of health economic development goals and can lead to poverty, said Mirfin Mpundu, executive director of the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network in Kenya.

He suggested that the government establish a system of accountability for antibiotics usage and an evaluation system for policies.

He also noted that in the process of antibiotics management, there is not a single method that works for all regions and countries, hence governments should respond accordingly to their own situations.

All participants were in agreement that antibiotic resistance must be tackled through cross-sectoral cooperation under the framework of health promotion in a systematic and comprehensive way.