G7 meet over Antimicrobial Resistance AMR

Context

Recently, Group of Seven (G7) countries met at Berlin to join hands against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). 

Key-Highlights of the meeting

• Antimicrobial resistance as a bigger threat: Health ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) highly industrialised countries recently recognised antimicrobial resistance was a bigger threat to low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) even though fighting it was a shared responsibility.
• Death and effect on GDP: Nearly 700,000 people die of AMR every year. The toll can rise to as many as 10 million by 2050 and eat up 3.8 per cent of annual global gross domestic product (GDP).
• The G7 committed to establish new international integrated surveillance systems and improve existing ones to monitor AMR and antibiotics use among humans, animals and plants and the effect on the environment.
• This will be in cooperation with the World Health Organisation, Food and Agriculture Organisation, World Organisation for Animal Health and the United Nations Environment Programme.
• The aim is to enhance the scientific basis to inform risk assessments and identify opportunities for mitigation.
• The group also committed to promote prudent and appropriate use of antimicrobials through 2023by defining national measurable targets on AMR in line with domestic authorities, including antibiotic usage in human health.

About Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

• According to WHO, Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the ability of a microorganism (like bacteria, viruses, and some parasites) to stop an antimicrobial (such as antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials) from working against it. 
• As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, infections persist and may spread to others.

Factors Causing AMR in India

• Antibiotic Consumption: Inappropriate consumption of broad-spectrum (last resort) of antibiotics is high because of changing prescription practice in the healthcare system due to the non-availability of a narrow spectrum of antibiotics.
• Social Factor: inappropriate antibiotic use among the general public like
• Self-medication to avoid the financial burden
• Doctors may perceive that they are compelled to give antibiotics as patients come with a preconceived idea of quick relief.
• Nexus between doctors and pharmaceutical companies put pressure on doctors and pharmacists to prescribe new antibiotics.
• Antibiotics Consumption in Food-Animals: Use of antibiotics as growth promoters in food animals and poultry is a common practice and later it evolves in the food chain.
• Poor Sanitation: The large proportion of sewage is disposed of untreated into receiving water bodies, leading to gross contamination of rivers with antibiotic residues, antibiotic-resistant organisms.

India’s Initiative

• To prevent the Over the counter sales of antibiotics, the central drug standard control organisation (CDSO) prohibits medical stores from selling 24 key antibiotics without a doctor's prescription.
• India’s Red Line campaign: Which demands that prescription-only antibiotics be marked with a red line, to discourage the over-the-counter sale of antibiotics– is a step forward.
• National Health Policy, 2017, terms antimicrobial resistance as one of the key healthcare issues and prioritises the development of guidelines regarding antibiotic use and check on restricting the growth of antibiotics.
• The National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (NAP-AMR) 2017 has assigned coordinated tasks to multiple government agencies involving health, education, environment, and livestock to change prescription practices and consumer behaviour and to scale up infection control and antimicrobial surveillance.
• FSSAI has set certain guidelines limiting the antibiotics in food products such as fish and honey.