It is a well-known fact that Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a public health problem and is a threat to the global economy. AMR is happening right now in all parts of the world. As we are aware of the challenges posed by AMR, it’s high time we needed to learn and adapt strategies to tackle this ‘tragedy of commons’. Acknowledging this, the team PREVENT IT organized an international workshop on Antimicrobial Resistance: Containment measures.

The event was scheduled for 12th November 2021 (Friday) from 02:00 pm – 04:00 pm IST/ 09.30 am – 11:30 am CET in a  virtual mode. The workshop was conducted on the Zoom platform and was streamed live on Youtube for maximum outreach. It aimed to provide extensive information on the catastrophe containment measures that can be implemented at the individual, institutional, and community levels. The workshop featured six esteemed speakers from across the globe to be part of this workshop and to share their experience and knowledge.

Dr. Rakshitha (Associate Researcher, PREVENT IT project) being the moderator of the session initiated the event, thus introducing the project and activities to the attendees. Dr. Prakash Narayanan (Project Coordinator at Manipal) took the lead on the welcome note. The first information session was delivered by Dr. Kiranjeet Kaur (Lead coordinator, PREVENT IT project, Chitkara University, Punjab). She shared the idea behind the workshop and briefed about the importance of the concept of AMR. Later, the stage was taken over by Dr. Himanshu Pradhan (PREVENT IT Coordinator, KIIT Deemed to be university, Orissa), who explained the AMR global action plan strategies and elaborated on the surveillance system globally and in the Indian context.

Dr. Sanjeev K Singh (PREVENT IT Coordinator, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Cochin) gave an interesting talk on how education at the institutional level can make a difference in the burden of AMR. He went into the details of loopholes and challenges that the education system is facing right now and explained the need to educate prescribers. Dr. Vandana K E (Professor and Head, Department of Microbiology MAHE, Manipal) divulged the details with the participants about the healthcare-associated infections, their burden and shared her experience in infection prevention and control division at Kasturba Hospital, Manipal. The session was further continued by Mr. M Mohan (Founder, Rural Institute for People’s Enlightenment, Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh). Working at the grassroots level, he helped attendees explore strategies that can be followed at a community level to curb AMR. Mr. Mohan shared his organizational activists followed such as awareness camps to farmers, self-help groups which assisted in tackling irrational use of antibiotics. In the end, Dr. Prakash Narayanan presented the vote of thanks to the esteemed speakers, thus highlighting AMR’s preventive strategies on a concluding note.

To access this e-workshop, please click here!

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