South Centre grant - South-East Asian regional workshop on AMR

The Fleming Fund, through a grant to the South Centre, a multilateral organisation focused on supporting developing countries from the South to engage in international issues, funded them and the Third World Network to organise a South-East Asian Regional Workshop on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in March this year.

The workshop brought together Government and national AMR committee representatives from 8 South-East Asian countries as well as from China and India. It also included representatives from the World Health Organisation and the Food and Agricultural Organization, and representatives from civil society networks from this region. Through presentations and breakout group discussions the issues countries are encountering to implement effective national plans to address AMR in human and animal health were discussed. Such problems included inadequate coordination, insufficient political engagement and the lack of financial resources, technical equipment and technical knowledge. Throughout the conference commitment was clear, supported by real action, to implement a One Health approach to address AMR across the region. For example the conference awarded representatives from the Indonesian Ministry of Health for their recent banning of the use of antibiotics as growth promotors in the animal sector, a significant step in promoting AMR actions and best practice in the region. However, it is clear there is an urgent need to involve the environmental sector in future discussions and national plans.