More than a million people die in India every year with a drug-resistant pathogen. Factors compounding antimicrobial resistance (AMR) include the widespread overuse and misuse of antibiotics, both in hospitals and at home.
This statement was released in a report by the Indian School of Business’ Max Institute of Healthcare Management and the Centre for Global Development.
They asked stakeholders across national and regional governments to improve antimicrobial innovation, accessibility, and stewardship practices to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in India.
While the National Action Plan on AMR launched by the government in 2017 attempts to address some of the issues, the plan lacks a focus on drug procurement, access, and stewardship practices. Moreover, at the state level, only four states Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi, and Andhra Pradesh have action plans to contain the spread of AMR.
Prof Sarang Deo, Professor and Area Leader of Operations Management, Deputy Dean, Faculty and Research, and Executive Director of ISB Max Institute of Healthcare Management at the Indian School of Business said, “The National Action Plan for AMR emphasises uninterrupted access to high-quality antimicrobial medicines. However, one needs innovative and implementable solutions that achieve this without leading to the overuse of antibiotics. This is especially important for small- and medium-sized hospitals that are less likely to have strong stewardship programmes and do not have requisite economies of scale in their operations. Strengthening hospital accreditation that certifies good antimicrobial stewardship practices and creating pooled procurement system through a public-private partnership for high-end antimicrobials based on such accreditation systems is one such solution.”
To combat AMR, the report recommends modifying procurement practices, adding essential antimicrobials in state drug procurement lists, improving inter-state coordination, enhancing surveillance and improving diagnostics facilities in hospitals.
It also calls for the creation of an innovation ecosystem for antimicrobial research and development which involves developing specific antimicrobials for the Indian context.
