5, Oct 2024
Hyderabad Declaration: AMR and Oral Health Take Center Stage at G-SPARC 2024

Hyderabad, October 05, 2024:  The three-day Global South Conference on Infection Prevention, Control and Antimicrobial Stewardship(G-SPARC)-2024 which is being attended by well over 2000 delegates concluded on Saturday evening.

G-SPARC 2024, Hyderabad Declaration and Two White papers on AMR and State Action Plans and Oral Health and AMR Declaration unveiled. Seen are Govind Hari, Ranga Reddy and others_pic 8

Prof. GVS Murthy, President, PRASHO; R Govind Hari, Chairman, PRASHO; Dr. Ranga Reddy Burri, Chairman G-Sparc; Dr. Raghu N Reddy, Co-Chair of G-Sparc and Continental Hospitals; Dr. Shamanna, Professor, University of Hyderabad; Sri. B J Rao, Vice Chancellor, University of Hyderabad; Mr. Gareth Wynn Owen, Deputy High Commissioner, UK Consulate, Hyderabad and Mr. Nkwan Jacob Gobte, Honorary Secretary, ICAN graced the closing function

R Govind Hari, Co-Chair, G-SPARC 2024 gave a welcome address.

The organisers have unveiled G-SPARC 2024, Hyderabad Declaration. Two White papers on AMR and State Action Plans for containment in India and Oral Health and AMR Declaration. It presented 21 recommendations in its Hyderabad Declaration. The following are a few highlights of the 21 recommendations.

Awards was presented to five leaders in AMR and IPC. Seen in the pic is Prof. Chedili Azzouz, Chairman, ICAN seen receiving the award. Also seen ar Ranga Reddy, Govind Hari and others_pic 2

The declaration said AMR is a manmade disaster and has to be fought by concerted action.

Countries must institute effective and efficient surveillance and monitoring mechanisms.

Strong collaborations must be forged between Global South countries. The countries must support each other and stop the emergence of AMR and newer strains.

All countries in the global south must articulate strategies and action plans to combat AMR.

The high-income countries in the world should allocate a healthy proportion of their GDP to help Global South countries to fight AMR.

To see that at least 60% of countries have funded national action plans on AMR by 2030.

The Global Anti-Microbial Resistance Multi-Partner Trust Fund mooted by the UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) should prioritize countries of the Global South.

UNGA should target that at least 70% of Antibiotics used for Human Health globally should belong to the WHO Access Group Antibiotics with relatively minimal side effects and potential to cause AMR.

The One Health approach should be the cornerstone of all AMR activities.

Adequate funding should be earmarked for awareness campaigns

It strongly recommended that across the Global South, no Antibiotics including topical preparations should be dispensed without a qualified health practitioner’s prescription

G-Sparc calls for India’s remaining g states and union territories to develop and implement state-level Action Plans by 2026.

Every health facility must have an Infection, Prevention, Control and AMR committee

Community engagements are critical in reducing AMR and improving IPC practices.

During the closing ceremony, three MoUs were signed and exchanged.

One MoU was signed and exchanged between PRASHO & Oxford Brookes to Design and Offer Academic Programs to improve public health capacity including in WASH, IPC & AMS. The MoU was exchanged between Dr. Sarah Howcutt, Lead of Public Health & Sri. R Govind Hari, Chairman, PRASHO.

The second MoU was between SCIINV from Telangana, India & Microbira UK. Two prominent startups who are building digital tools for improving AMR diagnostic capacity to form a Joint Venture to jointly invest & further develop tools for containment of AMR. Dr. Marianne Ismail of Microbira, Dr. Ratnakar, Dr. Pradeep and Mr. Krishna Burri from SCIINV participated and exchanged the MoU.

The 3rd MoU was signed between ICAN & IFCAI, for a deeper collaboration for improving policy and practices of IPC and AMS in Global South. Prof. Chedli Azouzz and Prof. Ranga Reddy Burri exchanged the MoU.

Awards were presented to five leaders in AMR and IPC (Infection Prevention Control) and Three hospitals for best practices in AMR. They include Prof. Purva Mathur – AIIMS Delhi; Prof. Chedili Azzouz, Chairman, ICAN; Dr. Anuj Sharma – WHO India Country Office; Ms. Shailaja Teacher – fomer. Health Minister Kerala. She was not present in person to receive the same. Dr. Annie Thakore received the Award on her behalf.

The other recipients were Prof. Shaheen Mehtar – South Africa. Mr. Nkwan Jacob Gobte, Honorary Secretary, ICAN received her behalf.

Awards for excellence in the IPC & AMS Hospitals category were presented to AIIMS, Delhi, Dr. Purva Mathur received the award; Continental Hospitals, Dr. Guru N Reddy received the award and Pranaam Hospitals, Dr. Maneesh Gour received it on behalf of the hospital.

The objective of the conference was to provide a platform for Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), and Patient Safety stakeholders from Global South.

G-Sparc was organized by the Infection Control Academy of India (IFCAI); University of Hyderabad (UoH); Pragyaan Sustainable Health Outcomes Foundation (PRASHO)

4, Oct 2024
AMR is recognized as a global health security threat by WHO, CDC, and UN: Shailaja Teacher, Former Health Minister Kerala

Hyderabad, October 04, 2024….The three-day G-SPARC 2024, Global South Conference on Infection Prevention, Control, and Antimicrobial Stewardship began on Thursday morning at Shilpakalavedika in Madhapur in the city.

RANGA REDDY BURRI AND GOVIND HARI BOTH ORGANISERWS OF G SPARC 2024 SEEN PRESENTING SPEAKERS CERTIFICATE TO SHAILJA TEACHEWR FORMER HELATH MINISTER OF KERALA

Speaking on the Management of outbreaks and health crises- a politician’s perspective, Ms. Shailaja Teacher, Former Health Minister of Kerala said Infection Prevention and Control, AMR (Anti Microbial Resistance) are global issues. AMR is a silent pandemic she said. AMR is recognized as a global health security threat by WHO (World Health Organisation), CDC(Centre for Disease Control), and UN(United Nations). UN addressed AMR as early as 2016. She gave insights into the preparedness before COVID spread and how proactive measures about AMR, its ‘ policy were taken in Kerala, etc and the introduction of the AMR action plan, the first time India proved to be very effective.

Speaking further she said we need one health approach to address AMR. The estimated global cost it is $ 1000 trillion by 2050.

Kerala became the first state in India to release a sub-national Actional Plan called KARSAP in 2018 and it is conceptualized and implemented on a One Health Platform. We launched the Antibiotic Literate Kerala Campaign in 2019 to make all citizens of Kerala aware of the judicious use of antibiotics in all sectors. We have also launched an AI-based Antibiogram App, she said.

Participating in a panel discussion on the Leadership role in IPC & AMS policy and practices, Dr. Evita Fernandez- Chair of the Fernandez Foundation said nurses are true custodians of the patients. However, they are scared to raise issues when the patient’s health is compromised. When anyone including doctors touches the patient, they need to be sanitized well. Nurses must get their respect. They are not subordinates to doctors. They are our colleagues. Nurses play a big role in stopping infections spread to patients. Doctors must change their attitudes towards nurses and give mutual respect, she added.

Dr Anuj Sharma of the WHO Country Office of India said for an effective AMR plan and its implementation we need a state government’s concurrence on IPC (Infection, Prevention, and Control) and AMR

The panel discussion was moderated by Dr.Hari Prasad-Chaiman – CARE Group of hospitals

The panelists were Dr. Evita Fernandez- Chair, Fernandez Foundation Dr.Gurunath Reddy-Chairman – Continental Hospital; Dr.Vincy Tribhuvan -VP- Of nursing, CARE Group; Dr. Giridhar Gyani -DG- AHPI; Dr. Kashipa Harit- Deputy Director NABH; Dr. Anuj Sharma-Team Focal Point – AMR | IPC, World Health Organization, Country O ce for India

Earlier the meeting began with a session on Understanding the science of complexity and its applications in IPC by Prof. Dr. Vijay V.Yeldandi, Clinical Professor of Medicine and Surgery, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA.

Another session by Dr Annie Thakore, CEO, of Pranaam Hospital Enhancing Infection Control Practices in Hospital Settings followed it.

A panel discussion on the Role of Environmental surveillance in mitigating infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance was held. The Panelists were Dr. Rakesh Mishra, Director, Tata Institute of Genetics and Society (TIGS), Bengaluru and Principal Investigator, Alliance for Pathogen Surveillance Innovations (APSI)-India; Dr. Vinay K. Nandicoori, Director, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad and Principal Investigator, APSI-India; Dr. Aruna Panda, Program Director, APSI-India, CCMB, Hyderabad; Dr. Shivranjani C. Moharir, Senior Scientist, TIGS; Dr. Mahesh Dharne, Senior Principal Scientist, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune

Some of the prominent speakers who participated in the conference include Dr Anuj Sharma, WHO India Office; Prof Chedly Azzouz, Chairperson, Infection Control Africa Network; Prof. (Dr.) Atul Goel, DGHS & Director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC); Ms Shailaja Teacher, MLA and Former-Health Minister, Govt of Kerala

The objective of the conference is to provide a platform for Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), and Patient Safety stakeholders from Global South (resource-limited countries in Asia, Africa, Middle East, South America) to collaborate for better policies, research, tailored solutions and practices on IPC, AMS and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) and pandemic preparedness.

G-SPARC 2024 is organized by the Infection Control Academy of India (IFCAI), University of Hyderabad (UoH), and Pragyaan Sustainable Health Outcomes Foundation (PRASHO) with support from more than a hundred distinguished partners from academia, industry, healthcare organizations, and professional associations.

22, Feb 2024
Viatris Receives Global Minimized Risk of Antimicrobial Resistance Certification

India – February 22, 2024 – Viatris Inc. (NASDAQ: VTRS) a global healthcare company, announced that its Aurangabad, India, facility has received certification from the British Standards Institution (BSI) for meeting a new industry standard on Minimized Risk of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

The standard was facilitated by BSI for the AMR Industry Alliance, an organization made up of over 100 companies and associations from across the life-sciences industry with the shared goal of providing sustainable solutions to curb AMR. The certification is designed to encourage drug manufacturers and those in the supply chain to prioritize the sustainable production of antibiotics.

“We are proud to be the first pharmaceutical site in India to achieve this important Minimized Risk of Antimicrobial Resistance certification from BSI, demonstrating our commitment to controlling antibiotic discharge,” said Sanjeev Sethi, Chief Operations Officer, Viatris. “Many thanks to our cross-functional team members for continuing to implement sustainable systems and processes that advance the responsible manufacturing of antibiotics.”

“Viatris having gained independent certification, and the first to do so in India, is a reflection of their leadership and commitment to tackling global AMR,” said Steve Brooks, Advisor and Manufacturing Work Group Lead, AMR Industry Alliance. “From their initial days with the Alliance, Viatris has been a key contributor to achieving greater results in our shared goal of providing sustainable solutions to curb AMR while being responsible stewards of the environment.”