Phnom Penh, Cambodia.- International and national animal and public health; and environment experts will gather in Phnom Penh for the fifth time to discuss the action plan to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Cambodia.
Participants will meet from 29-30 November 2017 to review the national strategy to combat AMR. The strategy was initially developed and endorsed by the Ministry of Health (MOH). The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), subsequently, drafted a national action plan on AMR for food and agriculture. In an effort to support a One Health approach to AMR, the Fleming Fund of the United Kingdom (UK), Department of Health, funded multi-stakeholder workshops that included stakeholders from the agriculture, food and human health sectors. The workshops were designed to integrate human and animal health strategies and activities on AMR mitigation.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Representative in Cambodia Alexandre Huynh said that “a multi-sectoral approach to tackle AMR is needed to address its impact on health of humans, animals and the environment.” “FAO is assisting Cambodia to strengthen its communication, cooperation and collaboration among communities,” Huynh explained.
World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Cambodia Dr Liu Yunguo is looking forward to the High Level Meeting. “One of the expected outcomes of the high level meeting is raising AMR as a priority national agenda in Cambodia,” Dr Liu said. “AMR affects sustainability of health care, food security, health security, trade, environment, agriculture, among others. We need a One Health approach to address this,” Dr Liu said.
Specifically, the aim of the planned meeting is to review updates on the AMR situation and efforts of stakeholders working on AMR; outline the process for the multi-sectoral national action plan development, explore possibilities for partnerships and resource mobilization; achieve a joint statement of collaboration from the key ministries on the commitment to combat AMR; and meet an agreement on a common approach for for inter-sectoral collaboration on AMR and AMU.
