With the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) mounting globally and regionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Government of Japan convened seven countries in the WHO Western Pacific Region to share their crucial experiences on strengthening the fight against AMR.
The three-day workshop in Tokyo brought together senior health officials to specifically discuss how to enhance antimicrobial stewardship and clinical diagnostic stewardship as key tools in the public health arsenal to tackle and mitigate AMR.
The workshop was convened by the AMR Clinical Reference Center at the Japan Institute for Health Security (JIHS) - a WHO collaborating centre - and co-hosted by the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. It was attended by AMR champions from Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines and Viet Nam.
Getting the right test to the right patient at the right time
AMR occurs when bacteria and other organisms that cause infections evolve to resist the medicines used to treat them. It is projected to contribute to more than 5 million deaths in the Western Pacific Region between 2020 and 2030, driven in large part by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics.
To address this growing danger, WHO recently published Strengthening Clinical Diagnostic Stewardship in the Western Pacific Region: A practical manual, a facility-oriented resource developed in response to requests from Member States. The manual aims to guide health facilities on strengthening clinical diagnostic practices.
Clinical diagnostic stewardship helps health providers order the right test for the right patient at the right time, and then interpret and act on the results correctly. Antimicrobial stewardship complements this by supporting the choice of the right antibiotic, at the right dose, for the right duration. Together, the two approaches lead to more accurate diagnoses, more targeted treatment, fewer adverse drug reactions and lower health-care costs, while slowing the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens.
This is central to the mission of the AMR Clinical Reference Center. “We will pursue our mandate to improve the quality of patient care and address AMR by supporting WHO and Member States to strengthen implementation of antimicrobial stewardship and clinical diagnostic stewardship,” said Dr Norihiro Kokudo, President of JIHS.
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Participants of the AMS CDS workshop visit a microbiology laboratory and exchange best practices in culture collection and antimicrobial use. © JIHS
Japan’s commitment to fighting AMR
Japan has built one of the Region’s most advanced AMR responses, described in its national AMR action plan, including sophisticated surveillance systems, incentives to improve hospital practice, and investments in new approaches to strengthen the antibiotic pipeline.
At the international level, Japan leads the Initiative to Accelerate Action to Fight AMR in the Asia-Pacific Region, in collaboration with the WHO regional offices for the Western Pacific and South-East Asia. The country also launched the Asia-Pacific One Health Initiative on AMR (ASPIRE) in 2016 and has convened the Tokyo AMR One Health Conference annually since 2017.
“Japan remains committed to the fight against AMR, including moving the ASPIRE initiative forward to strengthen surveillance, health-care management, antimicrobial access and research on AMR in countries across the Asia-Pacific region” said Dr Manabu Sumi, Director-General of the Department of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan.
Turning ideas into action
Drawing on the collective expertise and experience of delegates, the workshop identified feasible actions to strengthen antimicrobial stewardship and clinical diagnostic stewardship policy, and to expand implementation across the national, hospital and primary care levels.
Each participating country prioritized actions suited to its own context, informed by the workshop discussions and grounded in the clinical diagnostic stewardship manual and other WHO resources. WHO, in turn, outlined the technical support it can provide to help Member States carry these plans forward.
The plans focus on concrete steps: strengthening governance, updating policy and guidelines to reflect clinical diagnostic stewardship principles, and building multidisciplinary workforce capacity across the health system. These steps aim to close gaps in diagnosis and treatment, curb the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens and improve patient safety. Delegates said they look forward to the continued support from WHO and the Government of Japan in turning these plans into lasting change in their own countries.
“The medicines we rely on today are a truly precious legacy. Our responsibility is to protect and preserve them for future generations,” said Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific. “Clinical diagnostic stewardship and antimicrobial stewardship are powerful tools that help us provide the best possible care to the person today while safeguarding the effectiveness of these medicines for future generations.”
WHO and JIHS will continue working with countries to integrate these stewardship principles and approaches into everyday clinical practice, with the aim of stronger health systems, lower health-care costs and better outcomes for patients across the Western Pacific Region.
Notes for editors:
The AMR Clinical Reference Center, Japan Institute for Health Security, is a WHO Collaborating Centre for Prevention, Preparedness and Response to Antimicrobial Resistance.
Japan led the development of the 2024 Joint Position Paper on AMR Actions in the Human Health Sector in the Asia-Pacific Region, which was endorsed by 30 Asia-Pacific Member States at a Ministerial Side Meeting during the May 2024 World Health Assembly. The Joint Position Paper was then taken to the United Nations High-level Meeting on AMR in September 2024.
In 2016, Japan hosted the Tokyo Meeting of Health Ministers on Antimicrobial Resistance in Asia, where the Asia-Pacific One Health Initiative on AMR (ASPIRE) was launched, alongside the Tokyo Communiqué.
For more information, or to arrange media interviews, contact:
WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific: wprocom@who.int
Japan Institute for Health Security (c/o Kyodo Public Relations Co., Ltd.): amr-pr@kyodo-pr.co.jp