New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday launched the second version of the National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (2025-29) with key strategies to contain antibiotic resistance.

The NAP-AMR 2.0 was released by Health Minister JP Nadda on the first day of the WHO’s World AMR Awareness Week (November 18-24) in the national capital. The first NAP-AMR was launched in 2017.

“The NAP-AMR 2.0 is a significant step in tackling AMR through a One Health approach. With participation from over 20 ministries and clear timelines and budgets, stakeholders reaffirmed their commitment to protecting public health,” the Ministry of Health said.

“AMR poses significant risks, particularly in surgical procedures, cancer treatment, and other critical healthcare interventions. The overuse and misuse of antibiotics have unfortunately become common practice, underscoring the urgency of corrective measures,” Nadda said during the launch.

The NAP-AMR 2.0 addresses the gaps identified in the first NAP-AMR by increasing the ownership of AMR-related efforts, strengthening intersectoral coordination, and ensuring stronger engagement with the private sector.

“The updated NAP-AMR includes specific action plans of each key stakeholder ministry/department with timelines and budget to enable effective monitoring of progress in implementation of the national action plan. It also includes well-defined mechanisms for coordination and collaboration within and across the sectors,” the Ministry said.

“The ‘One Health’ approach in this action plan has sectoral action as the foundation of intersectoral collaboration and coordination among human, animal, agriculture, environmental, and other relevant sectors over the next five years,” Nadda said.

It includes six strategic objectives with sub-objectives and key activities.

These include focus on improving awareness and understanding of AMR through effective communication, education and training; strengthening laboratory capacity for AMR detection, surveillance and targeted surveillance of antibiotic residues; reducing the incidence of infection through effective infection prevention and control; optimising the use of antimicrobial agents in humans, animals, and food through uninterrupted access and judicious use of antimicrobials; promoting research and innovations by identifying priorities for basic and operational research relevant to AMR; and focus on strengthening governance, intra and inter sectoral coordination and collaborations on AMR.

After its launch, each stakeholder ministry/ department is expected to develop their implementation roadmap, ensuring engagement of the private sector, technical institutions, professional groups, industry, cooperatives, NGOs, International partners, and other relevant organisations, the Ministry said.

–IANS

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