FAO promotes good farming and biosecurity practices aimed at preventing infection in livestock, aquaculture, and crop production.

The Philippines, with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN-FAO), has launched the “iAMResponsible” campaign calling for more responsible use of antimicrobials, including antibiotics, to mark the World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW) on 12-18 November. The theme of this year's WAAW is ‘handle antibiotics with care.'

The term antimicrobials is used, pharmaceutically, to describe drugs used to prevent and treat parasitic, bacterial, viral and fungal infections. Antimicrobial resistance is the ability of bacteria to survive treatment with antimicrobials, including antibiotics. Thus, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the general term for drug resistance in microbes. It occurs naturally but misuse and abuse contribute to an acceleration in cases of AMR.

 Irresponsible use of antimicrobials such as antibiotics could have catastrophic and costly consequences. Resistant bacteria maybe transferred between animal, humans and the environment. AMR makes antibiotics less effective in fighting infections, and can result to increased deaths in humans and animals. AMR has become a major health threat leading the UN General Assembly to include AMR as a priority health issue tackled alongside responses to Ebola and human immunodeficiency virus or HIV.

For FAO, the emphasis is on promoting good farming and biosecurity practices aimed at preventing infection in livestock, aquaculture, and crop production.

FAO-Philippines partnership on AMR

The Philippines is one of the first countries to answer the call for action against the threat of AMR. In 2014, the government created the Inter-Agency Committee for the Formulation and Implementation of the National Action Plan to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance in the Philippines (ICAMR), composed of the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Science and Technology, Department of Interior and Local Government, and the Department of Trade and Industry.

FAO is currently working with the DA, particularly with the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), in implementing the AMR project, ‘Engaging the food and agriculture sectors in sub-Saharan Africa and South and South-east Asia in the global efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance using a One Health approach’, launched in 2017.

FAO Representative in the Philippines, José Luis Fernandez, said, “The project has been helping implement activities related to the AMR National Action Plan. This include: development and implementation of the AMR Surveillance Program in Animal Health Sector; strengthening capacity in central and regional government laboratories in relation to AMR surveillance; supporting the different DA regional offices and local government units in the establishment of the AMR Regional Councils, as part of a national network on AMR; and raising awareness on AMR particularly in the food and agriculture sector.”

The “iAMResponsible” campaign, spearheaded by the BAI- FAO AMR Project, will help further raise awareness on and encourage the responsible use of antibiotics. Among veterinarians and practitioners, the campaign stresses to prescribe antibiotics only when needed – right drug, right dose, right time, right route, right species, and right patient.

Farm owners, on the other hand, are called on to apply good animal husbandry practices and use antibiotics only when prescribed by a licensed veterinarian. Drug manufacturers, distributors, and retail stores (e.g., agrivet supply) are also encouraged to share the responsibility of fighting AMR, primarily in ensuring that antibiotics have proper prescriptions before it is sold.

The campaign has been launched in the different regions in the country. A jingle composed by Necol Aviles and sang by Jovit Leonerio also won in the jingle-writing contest by the Philippines’ BAI-FAO AMR Project, in order to promote AMR initiatives among different stakeholders.

Under the Global Action Plan on AMR, FAO has also been working closely with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in promoting prudent and responsible use of antimicrobials in animals, and with the World Health Organization (WHO) in enhancing food safety and quality.#