AMR National Action Plan Revision – Animal Health Sector’s National Consultative Workshop
A consultative Workshop on the Animal Health Sector was held regarding revising the AMR National Action Plan. This workshop specially focused on Antimicrobial Resistance in animals and its impact on humans and the environment. Moreover, the workshop was organized in collaboration with the Animal Husbandry Commissioner Office, Integral Global Consulting (IGC) Atlanta, and FAO Pakistan. Antimicrobial Drug Resistance is a global issue under the One Health umbrella.
AMR Awareness Week Activities of Fleming Fund
In the workshop, Animal Husbandry Commissioner Dr. Muhammad Akram, CEO National Institute of Animal Health Dr. Muhammad Salman, FAO Representative in Pakistan Florence Rolle, Program Director for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) country office Pakistan Dr. Elisabeth Hesse, Director Integral Global Consulting Nabil Ahmed, Ms. Jenna Butolph, Dr. Hassan Mehmood, Dr. Farooq Tahir, Dr. Riasat Wasee Ullah and others participated.
Antimicrobial Resistance in Animals
Antimicrobial drug resistance is a global problem. Due to the indiscriminate and careless use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs in humans and animals, these drugs become less effective over time. This makes it difficult to fight the disease. The effects of unnecessary use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs in livestock and poultry end up in milk and meat that form part of the human diet. This also leads to problems of antimicrobial drug resistance in humans, among other issues. Moreover, due to antimicrobial resistance in animals, the possibility of animal-to-human transmission of diseases also increases.
What is AMR – Antimicrobial Resistance
So under the One Health umbrella, it is important to address the issue of Antimicrobial Drug Resistance in humans, animals, and the Environment. In this context, the livestock sector and veterinary professionals are important stakeholders of the AMR National Action Plan.
AMR National Action Plan
Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Antimicrobial Resistance was prepared in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). The World Health Organization endorsed this Global Action Plan in 2015. In the context of this Global National Action Plan, the first AMR National Action Plan was developed in 2017 in Pakistan as well as other countries.
The animal health sector was also included along with other stakeholders in the development of Pakistan’s National Action Plan for AMR. The National Institute of Health, the National Agricultural Research Center, the National Veterinary Laboratory, the World Health Organization, and other institutions joined to develop this Action Plan. Revision of this first AMR NAP1 was due in 2022.
AMR National Action Plan 2
Recently, the National Institute of Animal Health has taken the initiative to review AMR NAP1. NIH has constituted a technical working group. The group will review the existing National Action Plan and compile the recommendations for the new National Action Plan (AMR NAP2). The animal health sector also has a fundamental role in the formulation of this second National Action Plan. In this regard, this workshop has been organized for the consultation of veterinary experts.
Workshop of Animal Health Sector
During the workshop, experts focused on the different aspects of antimicrobial resistance in animals. They emphasized the importance of the animal health sector in the development of the second edition of the Antimicrobial Resistance National Action Plan. Dr. Omera Naseer gave a briefing on the recent progress regarding the implementation of the National Action Plan 1 and the steps taken by the National Institute of Health in this regard. The Regional Coordinator of the ACT project, Dr. Peter Flanagan, informed about the ongoing activities of the project.
National AMR Focal Person for Animal Health Dr. Muhammad Abubakar talked about the measures taken regarding Antimicrobial resistance in Animal Health Sector. Co-coordinator of the ACT project in Pakistan, Dr. Riasat Wasee Ullah, highlighted the importance of involving the livestock sector in the development of the National Action Plan. Dr. Aliya Zafar and Dr. Ejaz Khan gave a briefing regarding the progress on the revision of the National Action Plan.
During the workshop, various groups were formed in which experts reviewed the AMR National Action Plan and made recommendations for its second edition.
Dr. Muhammad Akram, Mr. Nabil Ahmed, and Prof. Dr. Mazhar Ayaz chaired the closing session of the workshop.
