Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): Overview
USAID's Strategy
for Combating AMR
Over the past half century, antimicrobial therapies, especially
antibiotics for bacterial diseases (e.g. pneumonia) and
anti-parasitic drugs for parasitic diseases (e.g. malaria)
have been important weapons against infectious microbes.
However, the wide-spread, often indiscriminate use of these
drugs has contributed to the emergence of drug resistant
strains of infectious organisms. As a result, diseases
such as pneumonia, bacterial dysentery, malaria, sexually
transmitted infections, and tuberculosis, once manageable
by available therapies, are becoming increasingly more
difficult and costly to treat. These resistant strains
move readily across national borders and many have already
made substantial inroads in the U.S.
Since 1998, USAID's efforts in
the fight against antimicrobial resistance have
focused on five
key areas:
- Establishing a global strategy and action plan
- Improving the understanding
of antimicrobial resistance
- Developing methods to detect antimicrobial
resistance
- Responding to data on antimicrobial
resistance and drug use
- Preventing and slowing the spread
of antimicrobial resistance
The Drug
Management Cycle explains the framework for drug management
support for antimicrobial resistance.
USAID Programs Use the Following Approaches:
- Global and Local Advocacy
- Training
- Research
- Appropriate Drug Use and Quality
- Country-Level Interventions
- Drug Management Cycle
Success Stories
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