Global initiatives to combat antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is being increasingly recognized as a serious global public health problem. It is perceived as the greatest challenge in the world-wide battle against infectious diseases. AMR has a huge impact on human development. Last one decade has seen AMR ascending high on the global agenda because of its impact on the Sustainable Development Goals. In an unprecedented move, the United Nations General Assembly deliberated on world-wide consequences of AMR and advised countries to initiate coordinated actions based on One Health approach. For implementation of concerted activities, FAO-OIE-WHO developed a Global Action Plan on AMR which is being used by a large number of countries to develop their respective national action plans to combat AMR. An aggressive and comprehensive globally coordinated plan is the need of the hour to combat AMR. This article describes a few such initiatives.