The government officials and dignitaries join the group photo session during inception workshop.

FAO Nepal has launched a new project - the “Action to support implementation of Codex AMR Texts (ACT)” project, which will lead to better containment and reduction of foodborne AMR in the country. 

“We organized the first workshop where around 50 participants from the government One Health counterparts, academia, research institutes, and private sectors were introduced to the ACT project and assessed the national situation regarding efforts and capacity to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR is a global public health threat and also considered a silent pandemic. Nearly 5 million human deaths every year are associated with AMR. Apart from the direct public health threat, AMR also has an impact on food security, livelihoods, food safety, economic development, and the environment. There is no time to wait, we need to ACT now,” said Sakar Shivakoti, the National Project Coordinator for the ACT project in Nepal.

The ACT project helps the government of Nepal to assess the country’s status regarding the implementation of Codex AMR texts and provide technical support to plan and implement activities regarding raising awareness on foodborne awareness, strengthen the monitoring and surveillance system, human and institution capacity development to address foodborne AMR, and support policy advocacy and recommendation. FAO questionnaire with various foodborne AMR related agendas was used to evaluate the activities, collaboration, and capacity for the surveillance to address these issues in Nepal. The impact of Codex Standards to support the containment and reduction of foodborne AMR was also discussed among the stakeholders.

“Unfortunately, there is a lack of awareness on the impact of implementing Codex standards in reducing foodborne AMR. We need to discuss among various departments and plan accordingly for the collaboration in One Health approach. This will strengthen our monitoring and surveillance system for antimicrobial use (AMU) and AMR for the containment and reduction of foodborne AMR” said Dr. Matina Joshi Vaidya, the Director General, the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC).

The workshop participants provided their inputs on potential intervening areas related to AMR and showed their willingness on their cooperation and involvement to tackle foodborne AMR in Nepal. The Ministry of Health and Population representative, Dr. Hemant Chandra Ojha, suggested including the public health sector in planning the activities and showed their commitment to support needed from the human health sector. The participants from academia showed interest in collaborating with the government on AMR surveillance by involving graduate and postgraduate students. The workshop helped to identify gaps and recommend relevant activities to include in the ACT project work plan over the four next years.

The ACT project is supporting the implementation of Codex standards, especially those related to the containment and reduction of foodborne AMR and monitoring and surveillance of antimicrobial use and resistance. Supported by the Republic of Korea, besides Nepal, this project will also lead to better management of foodborne AMR in Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia, Mongolia and Pakistan. By improving access to international markets and protecting consumers against the risks of foodborne AMR, the project will contribute to more inclusive, safe and efficient food systems.

For more information about the project, please visit here: Implementation of Codex standards to support containment and reduction of foodborne antimicrobial resistance (AMR) (GCP/GLO/505/ROK) | Antimicrobial Resistance | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (fao.org)