On November 24, 2025 the National Institutes of Health convened a national symposium with the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination and the Fleming Fund to mark World AMR Awareness Week and focus on the sustainability of AMR containment efforts across Pakistan.
Dr. Muhammad Salman, Chief Executive Officer of the National Institutes of Health, opened the symposium by describing antimicrobial resistance as a silent pandemic and reaffirming the NIH’s commitment to lead the scientific and surveillance response. He stressed that the transition now must be from building systems to making AMR containment measures lasting and locally driven.
The Special Secretary Health in his inaugural remarks underlined the government’s determination to tackle AMR through strengthened policy implementation and resource allocation. He emphasised a practical One Health approach that brings together human, animal and environmental health interventions, with particular attention to provincial ownership and coordination.
Dr. Ayesha Isani Majeed, Director General of Health at MoNHSRC, highlighted the need to operationalize the National Action Plan on AMR effectively. She called for tighter regulatory oversight in clinical settings and community outreach to ensure responsible antimicrobial use, noting that durable regulatory frameworks are essential to sustain AMR containment outcomes.
Representing the Fleming Fund, Dr. Qadeer Ahsan outlined the partner’s investments to modernise diagnostic capacity and surveillance systems. He spoke on the importance of transitioning toward self-reliance so that high-quality, continuous data generation can inform national policy and clinical practice for the long term.
Technical sessions examined core pillars of the One Health response, including Infection Prevention and Control and healthcare-associated infection surveillance. Speakers presented recent findings from the national AMR surveillance system and stressed that robust IPC remains the frontline defence against resistance. Environmental monitoring sessions flagged the presence of resistant organisms outside clinical settings and urged improved waste management to reduce environmental transmission.
The symposium concluded with a high-level panel on implementation of the AMR National Action Plan 2.0, where stakeholders identified operational hurdles and agreed a practical roadmap to improve inter-provincial coordination, strengthen surveillance and sustain diagnostic investments. Participants left with concrete steps to ensure that AMR containment in Pakistan moves from short-term projects to enduring public health practice.
