National Action Plans on AMR

National Action Plans on Antimicrobial Resistance

Countries develop and implement National Action Plans with respect to sustainable access to effective antibiotics, that are inclusive of civil society, local community views and based on situational analyses. Learn more about National Action Plans on Antimicrobial Resistance and the challenges and opportunities of implementing those in countries.

Take action at country level

To tackle the spread of antibiotic resistance, high-level attention and commitments by countries must be translated into action at national and local level.

Global Action Plan and UN Declaration

In 2016, antibiotic resistance was finally firmly placed at the top of the global political agenda by governments at the United Nations and at the World Health Organization.

Policy

Allocation of adequate resources and community engagement key to NAP implementation

In 2015 recognizing the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance the World Health Organization endorsed a Global Action Plan on AMR. The five objectives that the Global Action Plan aimed for were improving awareness and understanding of antimicrobial resistance, strengthening surveillance and research, reducing the incidence of infection, optimizing the use of antimicrobial medicines in human and animal health and ensuring sustainable investment in new medicines, diagnostic tools, vaccines, and other interventions. How far along are we?

Generating data for policy and practice

Knowledge is critical for good policy and practical work. In the Global Action Plan on AMR adopted by WHO in 2015, strategic objective 2 is to “Strengthen the knowledge and evidence base through surveillance and research”. But how can this be done in countries that lack funds and technical capacity?

Toolbox - A guide for National Action Plans

The process to develop, revise and implement comprehensive and cross-sectional national action plans can be overwhelming, but ReAct has resources to help. Guidance and tools to assist the work are collected in the ReAct Toolbox.

ReAct Report: When the Drugs Don’t Work - Antibiotic Resistance as a Global Development Problem

Keeping antibiotics effective for treating infectious diseases is essential for the work on achieving some or all of the Sustainable Development Goals. At the same time, achieving the goals is important to reduce antibiotic resistance.

This report by ReAct and Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation looks at the state of global development when the drugs don’t work and a post-antibiotic era sets in. The report shows how antibiotic resistance is a global development problem by highlighting existing data and people’s experiences. Read article and download report.

ReAct supports countries in the development of National Action Plans on AMR

National Action Plans on Antimicrobial Resistance are a crucial component to address antibiotic resistance at the country level. Since 2010, ReAct has supported countries in the development of National Action Plans.

ReAct and ICARS to develop policy guides and tools for low resource settings

To initiate implementation of National Action Plans on AMR – through intervention research projects or other activities – is very challenging in low- and middle-income countries. This has become very clear in the dialogue that both ReAct and ICARS have had with countries in the African region. Now the two organizations are joining hands in a project focusing on this – the challenges to implement National Action Plans in low resources settings. Learn more about the collaboration and its 7 objectives to move from words into action.

How should urgently needed work on antimicrobial resistance be funded?

How should needed work on antimicrobial resistance be funded? 2018 meeting report from workshop with experts on antimicrobial resistance and global health. The report includes strong evidence from a number of low- and -middle income countries about the extreme difficulty in identifying funds for priority activities and human resources. Read article and download report.

Sustainable investments in solutions to address antibiotic resistance

Investing to deliver on the objectives of the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance is urgently needed. The return of economic and health investments in managing antimicrobial resistance will be large and are needed across several sectors to minimize the negative impact of antimicrobial resistance.

From ReAct Africa Conference: 6 gaps and 7 key outputs how to make implementation of NAPs on AMR possible

The ReAct Africa conference in 2017 had the theme Moving Beyond Antimicrobial Resistance National Action Plans Development to Implementation and was attended by key global leaders on antimicrobial resistance. The conference systematically addressed the strategies necessary to implement National Action Plans on AMR. The strategies were based on the priority areas listed in the Global Action Plan on AMR.

Costing National Action Plans on AMR: Practical suggestions for simplifying the process

Costing a country’s National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) appears to be a daunting and challenging task. The complexities of the National Action Plans, its multidisciplinary nature, intergovernmental involvement, along with the numerous activities involved in implementation appear to require an entire health system budgeting exercise which can be overwhelming.

3 things I wish I knew before developing a National Action Plan on AMR

Edith Gavor is a member of the National Platform on Antimicrobial Resistance that has been tasked to develop the national action plan for Ghana. A draft policy is now ready and she hopes to be able to launch it and start implementing it in the coming year.

“If we were to begin the process now, I would definitely start with visiting the ReAct Toolbox”.

5 steps: How to get started developing a National Action Plan on AMR

Lourdes Jarquin is part of the Technical Committee responsible for developing the national action plan on antimicrobial resistance in El Salvador. Click here to get her five best pieces of advice on how to get started.