National Strategy to address antibiotic overuse
This week the Government released the first National Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy to reduce the threat of antibiotic resistance following statistics showing Australia’s consumption of antibiotics is among the highest in the developed world.
The strategy was developed in partnership with industry and government, and will guide action by governments, health professionals, veterinarians, farmers and communities to reduce the emergence of resistant bacteria. The strategy identifies actions for the appropriate use of antibiotics in human health, animal health and agricultural productivity and will help to guide how Australia tackles this issue not only domestically but also at the regional and global levels.
The release of the strategy comes following discussions at the World Health Assembly last week to agree to a global strategy for responding to the threat of antimicrobial resistance. A strategy Implementation Plan is currently being developed in consultation with stakeholders from across the human health, animal health, food and agriculture sectors, as well as State and Territory Governments.
