Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel said here on Tuesday that the government has taken several steps to combat Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) including formulating a policy on the containment of the medical condition.

In a written reply in Rajya Sabha on steps taken to combat AMR, the Minister said, “The government of India has taken many initiatives to combat Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). The initiatives include constitution of the National Task Force on AMR Containment in 2010 leading to development of the National Policy on AMR containment in 2011. ”

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She said the government launched the national programme on AMR containment in 2013.

The minister informed that the national surveillance networks including laboratories from across the country have been established and are generating National AMR Surveillance reports annually and also submitting data to the Global AMR Surveillance System (GLASS).

She said awareness material on judicious use of antimicrobials and hand hygiene and infection prevention has been developed and shared with various stakeholders.

Patel said to promote judicious use of antimicrobials, surveillance of antimicrobial use has been initiated at tertiary care hospitals.

She also said the Ministry launched the National Action Plan on AMR (NAP-AMR) in 2017 which was developed in alignment with the Global Action Plan on AMR. The Action Plan is being implemented by various stakeholder Ministries.

Patel also said national expert consultations were held towards development of NAP-AMR 2.0 in 2022. “Objectives of these consultations included undertaking SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analyses across various sectors in context of the existing NAP-AMR and beyond as well as proposing the structure and contents of the proposed NAP 2.0 and to recommend essential elements of AMR research policy and research agenda of the country under NAP 2.0,” she said.

Pointing out that Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) is an important program under National Health Mission (NHM) for disease surveillance in the country, she said it is implemented in all 36 states/UTs.

She further said that the government, through the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has collaborated with various International Organizations/Countries to address AMR and enhance disease surveillance.