Indonesia lays groundwork for antimicrobial resistance resilience through One Health approach
Jakarta (27/6)– The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and Ministry of Health (MoH) together with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO), and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) announced today (27/6) at a national workshop, the successful completion of antimicrobial resistance Multi-Partner Trust Fund (AMR MPTF) project in Indonesia.
The Tripartite (FAO, WHO, and WOAH) in collaboration with the Government of Indonesia under the AMR MPTF project, assisted Indonesia in controlling AMR with the One Health approach since 2021. This project focuses on strengthening the system for antimicrobial use (AMU) and AMR reduction through the promotion of prudent use of antimicrobials under the antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programme and Infection Prevention and Control - Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (IPC-WASH) in critical sectors along the antimicrobial distribution chain for human and animal health. In 2022, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) joined the partnership and established Quadripartite (FAO, WHO, WOAH, and UNEP), completing support from the environmental sector in AMR prevention in Indonesia.
"The joint efforts made in the MPTF project from 2021 to 2023 have helped the government, especially in encouraging the implementation of the National Action Plan for Controlling Antimicrobial Resistance in Indonesia for 2020-2024," said Nuryani Zainuddin, Director of Animal Health, Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health, Ministry of Agriculture. Further, Zainuddin stated, "AMR is one of the biggest threats to global public health and economic development, and this programme has increased the awareness of key stakeholders in reducing the impact of AMR on humans, animals and the environment through mutual synergy."
“The AMR MPTF project has provided actionable data, enabling us to strengthen the next level of implementation in combating AMR in the country in the years to come. The multisectoral approach and collaboration during the project has taught us that we can and should continue to work together in combating the AMR in Indonesia,” said Dr Yanti Herman, Director of Health Service Quality Ministry of Health.
Through these nearly three years of cooperation, Indonesia has improved the AMR resilience system with the One Health approach. The project has provided important baseline information about IPC-WASH and AMS in Puskesmas, hospitals, and farms, as well as Knowledge, Attitude and Practice on AMR of health care workers and layer farmers. This project resulted in farms obtaining Veterinary Control Numbers (NKV) certificates, a government’s guarantee for safe food. Engagement with private sectors also improved, such as 20 pharmaceutical companies also using the joint national guideline for collaborative inspection of antimicrobial distribution chains. Moreover, the project built Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) tools for the 2020-2024 National Action Plan on AMR to assure the sustainability and effectiveness of AMR control actions in Indonesia.
More than 50 participants from cross-sectoral ministries, agencies and associations discussed the achievements and best practices of the project and pursued dynamic discussions to formulate a way forward to maintain sustainability in AMR prevention efforts.
Multisectoral Collaboration for AMR Mitigation
Rajendra Aryal, FAO representative in Indonesia and Timor Leste, appreciated the important contributions made by all stakeholders. "With the closing of the AMR MPTF project, FAO certainly hopes that all stakeholders can sustain the efforts made under this project and continue the activities in controlling AMR, while proposing novel and innovative approaches to overcome new challenges," stated Aryal. He further highlighted Indonesia’s strong commitment to combat AMR realized through close collaboration among all relevant parties using the One Health approach.
Meanwhile, WHO Representative to Indonesia, Dr N. Paranietharan, said, “Facing AMR challenges requires strong coordination within and across sectors, and this MPTF project has delivered important lessons for how to work together. The data generated are also important for policy action for developing future AMR control plans.”
Dr. Ronello Abila, WOAH Sub-Regional Representative for South East Asia, appreciates the contributions of the Indonesian authorities and relevant stakeholders in addressing the gap of raising awareness and communication to mitigate the risk of AMR, “We encouraged that the advocacy and communication strategy using One Health approach along with the communication materials resulted from this AMR MPTF project can assist the improvement of stakeholder’s awareness and understanding of AMR in Indonesia.” Abila also stressed, “The project has also engaged the Indonesian veterinary pharmaceutical companies in order to get their commitments to expedite implementation of existing AMR strategies. It is also essential that we engage the Indonesian journalists from various media which can help to convey key messages to a much wider audience.”