Health Ministers from 11 South-East Asian countries adopted the Jaipur Declaration on Antimicrobial Resistance, committing to preserve the efficacy of antibiotics through rational use and regulation.

The Health Ministers met at Jaipur recently to review key health issues in WHO’s South-East Asia Region and provide policy direction for future action. They also focused on the prevention and control of non communicable diseases.

Warning that “The world is on the brink of losing its miracle cures” WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan said, “This is the stark reality the world faces. We have taken antibiotics and other antimicrobials for granted. And we have failed to handle these precious, yet fragile medicines with appropriate care.”

Drawing attention to the growing threat from non-communicable disease, Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, WHO’s regional director for South-East Asia said, “The burden of chronic non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, chronic lung diseases and mental disorders is set to rise steeply in the next decade. The long term medical treatments required for chronic diseases will skyrocket health care costs and cause an additional economic burden to people.”

By adopting the Jaipur Declaration on Antimicrobial Resistance, the Health Ministers called for urgent measures to control further development of antimicrobial resistance. They acknowledged that the most important driver of antimicrobial resistance is the irrational use of these agents and national governments must take urgent action to preserve the efficacy of existing antimicrobial agents.

“More needs to be done to control resistance to antibiotics and to ensure the rational use of antibiotics in order not to allow development of ‘superbugs’ in the region,” said Dr Samlee.

The Declaration underscores concern at the spread of antimicrobial resistance which is negating achievements made in protecting human life and health. It recognized that such resistance could become a critical impediment in global efforts towards containing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases.

The Ministers committed to develop national antibiotic policies, to regulate the use of antimicrobial agents and to be vigilant about the emergence and spread of further resistance.

Developing countries like ours face a multiplicity of concerns. While not yet having been able to fully control communicable diseases, we are facing the mounting challenge of non-communicable diseases and new and re-emerging infections. In order to work towards the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health, we need to institute effective measures to prevent, control and manage non-communicable diseases since they are now the main causes of mortality and disability at global and national levels. In countries like ours, they are the major cause of premature deaths, which strike the poor the hardest, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad said.