Think Tank Meeting on Opportunities to Improve Surveillance and Research in Antimicrobial Resistance  

As part of the Shastri Conference and Lecture Series Grant, Prasanna School of Public Health (PSPH), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal in association with Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and Prevent It project (Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union), had organized a Think Tank Meeting on Opportunities to Improve Surveillance and Research in Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) on Monday, February 28, 2022 (19:30 to 21:00 hours IST) and Tuesday, March 01, 2022 (19:30 to 21:00 hours IST) through Zoom.

Panel members: Mr Joel Denis, Dr Donald Sheppard, Mr Jayson Shurgold from Public Health Agency of Canada; Dr Lesley Ogilvie (Global AMR R&D Hub); Prof Vandana (Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education); Dr Anuj Sharma (WHO Country Office for India); Ms Margaret Haworth-Brockman (National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease) were the Panel Members. Prof Helmut Brand (Director, Prasanna School of Public Health, Manipal Academy of Higher Education) was the Event Moderator.

The Introductory Remarks were delivered by Prof B Hariharan (Vice-President, Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute), Mr Joel Denis (Director-General, Antimicrobial Taskforce, Public Health Agency of Canada), and Prof Helmut Brand (Director, Prasanna School of Public Health, Manipal Academy of Higher Education).

Around 15 minutes presentations by those involved in AMR surveillance activities set the base for each days’ panel discussion. On the first day of the event, an overview on the surveillance system in Canada was provided by Dr. Donald Sheppard and Mr. Jayson Shurgold. They gave details of existing data source and the challenges faced by them in Canadian AMR surveillance system. On the second day, Dr. Lesley Ogilvie provided details on the Global AMR R & D hub, a global partnership working to improve and enhance AMR Research & Development activities and policies across One-Health spectrum. Dr Anuj Sharma spoke about AMR situations and challenges in India. Prof. Vandana explained the issues on implementing AMR surveillance in tertiary healthcare settings. On both the days of the meeting, the panel discussed surveillance challenges and solutions in Canada and India related to human, agricultural and environment, keeping the cross-border heterogeneity in reference. The panel also discussed the queries raised by participants and co-panel members. The panel discussion lasted approximately 40 minutes.

Prof Helmut Brand, Dr Prakash Narayanan Vasudevan Potty and Dr Rakshitha K from Prasanna School of Public Health, MAHE were the members of Organizing team. On both days, prior to concluding the proceedings, the organizing team presented a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat) analysis on AMR surveillance based on the discussions.

The panellists and organizers agreed to have more meetings to take the issues raised through the deliberations in the Think-Tank meeting forward.

To access the agenda for the event, please click here!