Centre launches 2nd national action plan to combat antimicrobial resistance

In order to counter the growing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the Indian population, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday launched the second version of the National Action Plan for the disease (NAP-AMR) for the period 2025 to 2029.

 

AMR is a major global health threat where microbes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites evolve to resist the drugs meant to kill them.

 

The new plan attempts to plug gaps identified during the implementation of the first NAP-AMR (2017-21).

 

“NAP-AMR 2.0 addresses the gaps identified in the first NAP-AMR by increasing the ownership of AMR-related efforts, strengthening inter-sectoral coordination and ensuring stronger engagement with the private sector,” Health Minister J P Nadda said.

 

While the earlier version of NAP established a broad framework to counter AMR, the second version focuses on defined responsibilities, measurable timelines and budget-linked action plans for each stakeholder ministry.

 

The updated plan includes action strategies drafted by over 20 ministries such as agriculture, fisheries and animal husbandry, environment, science and technology, Jal Shakti, education and the Department of Pharmaceuticals.

 

“After its launch, each stakeholder ministry and department is expected to develop their implementation roadmap, ensuring engagement of private sector, technical institutions, professional groups, industry, cooperatives, NGOs, international partners and other relevant organisations,” the ministry said in a statement.

 

This comes even as AMR is considered to be a rising health issue for India, with the country seeing overuse and misuse of antibiotics, poor infection control and a lack of new drugs to combat resistant bacteria.

 

According to a report by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), more than 297,000 deaths were directly attributable to AMR, while over 1,042,500 associated deaths were recorded in 2019.

 

A recent Lancet report added that more than 80 per cent of Indian patients carry multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), the highest globally.