The government today termed antimicrobial resistance as a "big" challenge and said it will launch a campaign next week involving four ministries to strategise to contain AMR.
Also, it is moving towards a mechanism of auditing prescriptions to monitor what drug is being prescribed and detailed guidelines are expected to be framed within a month.
Health ministry officials said AMR also comes under the ambit of ministries of agriculture, animal husandary, environment and pharmaceutical and the joint campaign will be launched on February 22.
"It would be an understanding between various ministries that we jointly strategise to contain AMR and all our policies should be in one direction so that collectively we are able to address this issue.
"We will also have a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with all ministries together. We will also develop an action plan and policies will be directed in that direction," Health Minister J P Nadda told reporters.
The Health Ministry has circulated a concept note to each of the ministries which has been agreed to by all of them and during the launch of the joint campaign on February 22, the ministries will come up with their individual view on how to go about containing AMR.
Union Health Secretary C K Mishra termed AMR as a "big" challenge and said the ministry had earlier launched a "redline" campaign to restrict use of antibiotics only to where it is required.
"We are also now moving towards prescription audit. The problem is prescription audit is very easy to enforce in the public sector... Not that easy in the private sector.
"We have three committees presently working on AMR that are coming up with detailed guidelines. I think by next month, we will have those guidelines in place," Mishra said when asked about the lack of mapping on AMR deaths in India.
He said India has taken the AMR issue "very" seriously and the government's policy regarding it is very strong.
Mishra said a prescription audit is carried out to monitor
drugs being prescribed.
"We have to put in place a mechanism for that. In Rajasthan, in their drug and vaccine system, it is inbuilt that every hospital uploads the prescription they write.
"Through this, you at least know where we are moving. It's not so much about stopping it. You cannot do that. A patient who needs an antibiotic will have to be given but at least we know where we are going," Mishra said.
He pointed out that prescription audit in the private sector is a "tricky" issue and he has held discussions with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) regarding it.
Noting that the use of antibiotics in animals happens in a cycle, the Health Secretary said this has to be addressed by the Animal Husbandry Department.
"Netherlands has reduced the use of antibiotics in animals by more than 50 per cent without affecting costs. That is why this programme (joint campaign) is happening," he said.
Asked how the government plans to regulate the chemist shops which also give these antibiotics, Mishra said those drugs which are not over-the-counter sale drugs, the ministry can monitor that.
Another health ministry official said there is a national antibiotic policy on AMR containment, as per which the records of all third and fourth generation drugs in Schedule H1 have to be kept by chemists for three years.
"Their licence may be cancelled if they do not do it. This was a big move to bring down the third and fourth generation antibiotics under a tighter regulatory control," he said.
