IVI and the Government of Bangladesh join forces to boost AMR response in South Asia


18 May 2022 in Seoul, the International Vaccine Institute, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) of Bangladesh shared key findings from the Capturing data on Antimicrobial resistance Patterns and Trends in Use in Regions of Asia (CAPTURA) project.

CAPTURA is an IVI-led initiative to increase the volume and quality of data on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), consumption (AMC), and use (AMU) in South and Southeast Asia. The project is funded by the Fleming Fund and managed by Mott MacDonald, the Fund’s Management Agent.

IVI is an international organisation with the mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health. Led by IVI, the National Dissemination Workshop held in Dhaka reviewed the last two years of key CAPTURA activities in Bangladesh.

The research findings will help the government of Bangladesh form evidence-based policies and practices to contain AMR, which is a critical and growing threat to global public health.

The project found that:

It also resulted in the following key accomplishments:

Professor Dr. Ahmedul Kabir from the Directorate General of Health Services in the MOHFW, Bangladesh, commented that:

“No clinicians should be able to prescribe antibiotics without reason. Our goal is to reduce the antibiotics being consumed without prescriptions and to stop prescriptions being written by non-clinicians.”

Major General Mohammad Yousuf, Director General of Drug Administration, spoke on the use of the findings:

“We will be able to use the findings from the CAPTURA project to establish an improved surveillance system in Bangladesh.”

The CAPTURA research, in collaboration with MOHFW, helped to establish guidelines for laboratory surveillance systems. The initiative provided insights that can be used by laboratories to develop a system for retaining and using data and encouraged greater collaboration between the public and private healthcare sectors.

CAPTURA dissemination workshop.

Dr Nimesh Poudyal, Project Lead of CAPTURA, added:

“Identifying the gaps and opportunities for improvement in collecting, sharing, and using enhanced-quality data is an essential resource for AMR surveillance — a key component of the CAPTURA project.”

“We’re grateful to the Government of Bangladesh for their partnership in this important effort to develop the groundwork for effective and sustainable strategies to stop the spread of antimicrobial resistance, as well as to our partner laboratories and pharmacies for their close engagement.”

CAPTURA activities in Bangladesh were completed in collaboration with the Directorate General of Health Services, Directorate General Drug Administration, and MOHFW of Bangladesh. This work was supported by the Fleming Fund Regional Grants.

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