As part of its efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through the One Health approach, FAO supports countries with the development and implementation of National Action Plans on AMR (AMR-NAPs) in the food and agriculture sector toward: 

• Reduce AMR prevalence and slow the emergence and spread of resistance across the food chain in all food and agriculture sectors; 

• Preserve effective and safe antimicrobials to ensure that infections remain treatable, sustaining food and agriculture production. 

For most countries, writing a NAP is not the main problem. Instead, the biggest challenges lie in the implementation and demonstration of sustainable action. Additionally, some countries struggle to integrate the food and agriculture sectors into their AMR-NAPs, which is crucial for achieving a One Health approach. To address these challenges, FAO developed the Progressive Management Pathway for Antimicrobial Resistance (FAO-PMP-AMR). 

WHAT IS FAO-PMP-AMR? 

The FAO-PMP-AMR serves as a guide to help countries put their AMR-NAPs into action. The progressive approach enables step-by-step improvements toward the sustainable use of antimicrobials and management of AMR. These improvements can start as small-scale initiatives, evolve into broader actions in priority sectors and eventually develop into fully-fledged, ‘One Health’ NAPs addressing AMR in all food and agriculture sectors nationwide.  

This process helps countries track their progress, identify priority actions (the monitoring and evaluation framework), and mobilize resources effectively. By setting prioritized activities, the FAO-PMP-AMR ensures that efforts are focused on the most impactful areas, facilitating continuous progress toward the responsible and sustainable use of antimicrobials. 

Why to implement FAO-PMP-AMR? 

In line with the FAO Action Plan on AMR  2021-2025, the FAO-PMP-AMR assists countries in the following key areas: 

• Increasing stakeholder awareness and engagement 
• Strengthening surveillance and research 
• Enabling good practices 
• Promoting responsible use of antimicrobials 
• Strengthening governance and allocating resources sustainably 

Each focus area contains specific topics proposed to be addressed in the AMR-NAPs. Each topic consists of activities at four steps where it requires specific actions be implemented in order for countries to advance to the next step. The FAO-AMR-PMP provides guidelines, standards and references to help with the planning and implementation of each activity.