There has been a slight modification in the national-level Working Group of GARP Nepal. Representatives from Department of Drug Administration (DDA), Ministry of Livestock Development (MOLD), National Health Education, Information and Communication Centre (NHEICC), National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) and Institute of Medicine (IOM) have been added to the existing Working Group. GARP Nepal has signed MOU with Nepal Veterinary Council for the development of a focused curriculum on AMR to serve as the basis for production of competent veterinary professionals with strong antimicrobial knowledge, hence leading to the prudent and judicious use of antibiotics in veterinary. Furthermore, a three member committee has been formed within the Ministry of Livestock Development, responsible for developing ‘Training Manual on Antimicrobial Resistance’ for veterinarians and para-veterinarians and ‘Awareness Tool (Flipchart)’ for veterinary drug retailers.
Additionally, a technical advisor has been identified for developing a planning package for implementing Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Chitwan Medical College, a tertiary care hospital of Nepal. This activity has been enforced as an initiative to improve the quality of antibiotic prescribing and thereby improve patient clinical outcomes in healthcare settings.
GARP Nepal has also collaborated with Department of Drug Administration in developing a training manual for community pharmacists, as they are the first point of contact for general peoples’ health related queries. A workshop was organized on 27th July, 2017 at Yalamaya Kendra for finalizing the contents of the TV Program and Documentary on AMR, to be produced in collaboration with NHEICC. The workshop was attended by all the relevant stakeholders including the Government and media, with representatives from DDA, MOLD, NHEICC, NPHL, WHO, Nepal television (NTV) and GARP Nepal. The participants finalized the contents to be covered and came to a common consensus on the name “Bahas maa Antibiotic” for the TV program; the production of which is likely to start off early this October.