Singapore’s national action plan on antimicrobial resistance

Abstract

The rapid emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat, and international bodies have called for action against it. Studies show that Singapore is not spared from its effects. There was strong local political support for action and One Health agencies assembled a One Health AMR Workgroup to jointly develop the National Strategic Action Plan (NSAP) for Antimicrobial Resistance. The NSAP would set the framework for Singapore’s response to AMR and would be aligned with the World Health Organisation’s Global Action Plan on AMR with reference made to the standards and guidelines established by intergovernmental bodies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Organisation for Animal Health. This paper describes existing initiatives to combat AMR, and lists priority areas for further action akin to the WHO Global Action Plan for AMR. These priority areas include education, surveillance and risk assessment, research, prevention and control of infection, and optimisation of antimicrobial use. Today, the One Health AMR Workgroup comprises of the Ministry of Health, the Health Promotion Board, the National Environment Agency, National Parks Board, PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency and the Singapore Food Agency.