Publication: Sustaining Action Against Antimicrobial Resistance: A Case Series of Country Experiences
Date
2022-10-17
ISSN
Published
2022-10-17
Author(s)
World Bank
World Health Organization
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs
when microbes, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites,
evolve in ways that reduce medicine’s ability to fight them.
AMR has made many infections, particularly bacterial
infections, increasingly difficult or even impossible to
treat. Without effective medicines, the number of people
with severe microbial infections will increase, as will the
number of people who die from these infections. In 2019,
4.95 million deaths were associated with AMR, with the
highest AMR-attributable death rates occurring in western
sub-Saharan Africa.8 While AMR is a natural evolutionary
process that occurs over time, many human-led behaviors have
increased its occurrence. The main drivers of AMR include:
(1) the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials; (2) lack of
access to clean water and adequate sanitation for people and
animals; (3) poor infection prevention and control measures
in healthcare facilities and farms; (4) limited access to
quality, affordable medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics;
and (5) lack of awareness and knowledge about AMR.
Additionally, for countries to progress from planning to
acting, AMR coordination committees must have a clearly
defined role and the remit to develop and implement an
operational plan. Operational plans should embed NAP
activities into the national development agenda, sectoral
strategies, and budgets, and should coordinate an aligned
approach to delivering NAP activities across sectors and
stakeholders. Creating and empowering AMR coordination
committees and comprehensively implementing and monitoring
the prioritized activities outlined in their NAPs
operational plan takes time; but there are several
relatively easy entry points for AMR action that countries
can utilize to accelerate their fight against AMR. The
remaining case studies in this series showcase successful
actions against AMR that three countries, Burkina Faso,
Jordan, and Malawi, have taken along their journey to fully
operationalizing and implementing their NAPs on AMR.
Citation
“World Bank; World Health Organization. 2022. Sustaining Action Against Antimicrobial Resistance: A Case Series of Country Experiences. © Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/38162 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”