Fighting Antimicrobial Resistance
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effective prevention and treatment of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, and viruses. AMR poses an enormous threat to the safety and feasibility of complex surgeries and procedures such as organ transplantation and chemotherapy and can make childbirth, minor infections, and hospital stays more perilous.
Recognizing that coordinated action is needed to minimize the emergence and spread of AMR, MSH catalyzes multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral coalitions to build awareness of the threat of AMR, develop educational materials that include ARM-related content, advocate for its containment, and enhance the availability and use of antimicrobial-related data.
Through targeted technical assistance in support of the Global Action Plan on AMR, MSH works to increase local capacity for improved practices and medicine use by strengthening detection systems and laboratories and advancing tools and technologies that could help contain AMR.
The USAID Medicines, Technologies, and Pharmaceutical Services (MTaPS) Program supports the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), whose purpose is to help build countries’ capacity to protect themselves from infectious disease threats and raise global health security as a national and worldwide priority. MTaPS helps GHSA target countries advance USAID’s objectives in regard to AMR by focusing on infection prevention and control as well as antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and works with target countries to identify issues, players, and capacities and to prioritize and customize these activities to help them increase their infection prevention and control and AMS capacity.
MSH’s activities in nearly 20 countries have contributed to AMR containment through improved infection prevention and control; stronger AMR stewardship; and the establishment of regulatory systems, national action plans, standard treatment guidelines, essential medicines lists, and preservice curricula.