Kerala will become the first State with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) committees in all 191 block panchayats across the State with the aim of improving AMR literacy at the grassroots.
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The decision was announced at the review meeting of the Kerala Antimicrobial Resistance Strategic Action Plan (KARSAP), chaired by Health Minister Veena George on Wednesday.
The guidelines for standardising and intensifying the working of the block-level AMR committees will be issued soon. All hospitals in the State will be made “Antibiotic smart”, it was said at the meeting.
Ms. George released the KARSAP 2022 report on the occasion.
The meeting reported that antimicrobial resistance against several antibiotics seemed to be on the rise. The Minister directed the Drugs Controller to cancel the licence of those pharmacies which sold antibiotic drugs without valid prescriptions, as had been decided earlier. The meeting also discussed the means by which date-expired antibiotics should be disposed of.
The meeting also discussed how the rise in AMR due to the unscientific use of antibiotics was emerging as a major concern in aquaculture, poultry farming and animal husbandry and how integrated action across sectors was required. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes had been found even in environmental samples.
The IEC material in Malayalam for creating AMR awareness among the public, as part of the AMR literacy campaign, was released on the occasion.
Scientific advisor to the Chief Minister M.C. Dathan, Food Safety Commissioner Vinod, Director of Health Services K.J. Reena, Director of Medical Education Thomas Mathew, WHO’s Technical Officer for AMR Anuj Sharma and World Bank representative Sathish Chandran were present.
