Project Syndicate: India’s War on Antimicrobial Resistance
Abdul Ghafur, coordinator of the Chennai Declaration

“…Uneven and unregulated antibiotic usage is one of the most important reasons behind the [antimicrobial resistance (AMR)] crisis. … Stronger regulations of antibiotics prescriptions … could help to mitigate resistance. Yet such rules alone will not be enough … Inequalities in access to medicine, excessive use, and poor sanitation services complicate the problem further. And when farmers use antibiotics to speed the growth of chickens and other livestock, drug-resistant germs find new ways to enter the environment. … Clearly, guidelines are an important first step in addressing the global AMR challenge. But governments, medical associations, and hospitals must also commit to tackling the antibiotic crisis together. That is what the health care community in India is doing. In 2012, India’s medical societies adopted the Chennai Declaration, a set of national recommendations to promote antibiotic stewardship. … [H]ealth care communities in advanced economies must find the political will to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use by people, and in agriculture…” (3/22).