NHSR&C establishes TAG to spearhead AMS efforts nationwide
Islamabad: Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) has emerged as the number one cause of death in Pakistan, killing over one million people annually, health officials and infectious disease experts revealed at a high-level meeting held at the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHSR&C) on Monday.
Of these, at least 300,000 deaths are directly caused by drug-resistant infections, while approximately 700,000 people die due to complications resulting from ineffective antibiotic treatments.
Citing an alarming rise in untreatable infections, health experts and ministry officials called for the immediate implementation of Pakistan’s second National Action Plan (NAP 2.0) to combat AMR. A Technical Working Group (TWG) was established under the leadership of Prof. Javed Akram, a leading physician and founding president of the Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine (PSIM), to spearhead antimicrobial stewardship efforts nationwide.
The high-level meeting was co-hosted by the health ministry and Getz Pharma, a local pharmaceutical firm playing a key role in driving AMR-related reforms. The meeting followed the National AMS Summit held in Karachi on May 19, where a national declaration was signed by the Ministry of Health, Health Services Academy, NIH, and Getz Pharma to renew their commitment to AMR containment.
Building on that momentum, the Islamabad session finalized plans for rolling out the AMR curriculum, launching the TWG, and scaling up training and public education programs.
Presiding over the session, Director General Health Dr. Shabana Saleem warned that without urgent reforms, all available antibiotics in Pakistan could soon become ineffective.
“If AMR is not addressed now, people will start dying from minor infections due to the absence of effective antibiotics,” she cautioned. Stressing that over 95 percent of antibiotics are used at the primary care level, she emphasized the need to train general physicians and raise awareness among the public.
She also noted irrational use of antibiotics categorized in the WHO ‘watch group’ at tertiary care hospitals and urged swift implementation of NAP 2.0 in collaboration with stakeholders.
Prof. Javed Akram described AMR as Pakistan’s top health crisis, followed closely by hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). “Patients admitted for successful surgeries often succumb to infections caused by extremely drug-resistant pathogens.
Even attendants—healthy individuals—sometimes contract these infections and die,” he said, emphasizing that such resistant bacteria often originate in hospitals due to indiscriminate antibiotic use, only to be carried into communities through hospital sewage and vectors like houseflies.
Prof. Akram proposed that the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) be transformed into a model hospital for AMR control. He also called for stringent regulation of quacks, who are widely blamed for the misuse and overuse of antibiotics.
Kashif Amin, Head of Public Health Operations at Getz Pharma, emphasized that doctors are the first line of defense against AMR. “Rational prescribing begins with empowering healthcare providers. Getz Pharma is committed to developing community engagement strategies to strengthen awareness on responsible antibiotic use,” he stated.
Health Services Academy (HSA) officials shared that they are in the final stages of developing a comprehensive AMR curriculum. Their goal is to train at least 1,500 general physicians by the end of this year and around 15,000 professionals over the next three years.
President of the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) Prof. Atif Hafeez and Sindh Healthcare Commission CEO Dr. Ahson Qavi emphasized integrating AMR education at the undergraduate medical level to ensure young doctors avoid irrational prescribing practices.
Dr. Mahvish Ansari and Abdullah Abro of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), Prof. Nasim Akhtar from PIMS, Dr. Omera Naseer from NIH, and other key stakeholders also participated in the meeting. Public health experts including Prof. Rana Jawad Asghar advocated for measures like providing chlorinated water, improving hygiene, and enforcing infection prevention protocols to curb AMR’s spread.
Other participants including representatives from provincial healthcare commissions and partner organizations reaffirmed their resolve to confront AMR with a united, multi-sectoral approach involving government, academia, healthcare providers, and the pharmaceutical industry—a necessary path to safeguard Pakistan’s public health and future generations.
