UNB Dhaka: Dhaka, Aug-24,

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sought continued collaboration from global leaders to keep up the momentum for ensuring equitable access to affordable and effective antibiotics and other medical facilities through technology transfer and sharing of ownership.

“Let’s work at the same time for partnership for investment in Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) containment,” she said on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister made the plea in her pre-recorded speech at the Second Meeting of Global Leaders Group (GLG) on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

She said the AMR challenge requires sustained action across sectors.  “I’m pleased to see the finalisation of the action plan in this regard. I’m also happy to support the GLG priority advocating for financing and implementation of multisectoral National Action Plans, with a One Health approach,” she said.

Hasina said she was glad to approve the comprehensive communication strategy for the GLG.  “We’ll do our part to raise the profile of the GLG work through different networks.”

She mentioned that financing across sectors is essential to reduce the burden of AMR.  “I look forward to hearing your ideas on what the GLG can do to increase sustainable financing to directly address AMR.”

The Prime Minister gave importance to the need to make sure that adequate funding is available for the national action plan implementation, research and development, and for ensuring equitable access to new innovations.

“Needless to say, we need to prioritise political action to achieve our goal,” she said, adding that AMR should be embedded in implementation of SDGs.

Talking about her own country, Hasina said Bangladesh has developed a six-year (2017-2022) National Strategic Plan and National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance Containment.

“The Bangladesh AMR Response Alliance has also been formed.”

She mentioned that Laboratory-based AMR surveillance for both human and animal health are being conducted regularly to ensure WHO categorisation.

“We’ve also been providing AMR surveillance data to WHO GLASS Platform for the last two years.”

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