Hyderabad: Telangana on Thursday, October 3, became the seventh state to introduce an action plan against Anti Microbial Resistance(AMR).
Health minister Damodar Raja Narasimha unveiled the plan during the inaugural day of the Global South Conference on Infection Prevention, Control, and Antimicrobial Stewardship (G-SPARC). “Telangana is poised to implement the plan effectively while cautioning that AMR was a ‘silent pandemic’ that demands urgent action.”
Narsimha added that Kerala was the first state to launch such a programme. Now, Telangana joins them in the fight against this latent global health crisis.
Dr. Guru N. Reddy, co-chair of G-SPARC and CMD of Continental Hospital, warned that AMR could soon push humanity to the brink of extinction if not addressed on a priority basis. “One-third of AMR-related deaths globally occur in India, with over a million lives lost annually,” he reminded.
Health secretary Dr Christina Z Chongthu acknowledged the state’s progress since India’s national AMR plan was first launched in 2017. “Telangana has focused on capacity building, improving audits, and ensuring adherence to protocols to limit the overuse of antibiotics,” she said.
Dr Anuj Sharma from WHO-India stressed the importance of collaboration to strengthen AMR strategies, while Prof. Chedly Azzouz, chair of Infection Control Africa network, highlighted the shared challenges between India and African nations in tackling AMR and infection control.
The recent United Nations General Assembly decision to reduce human deaths caused by AMR by 10 per cent by 2030 was also discussed.
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