India has joined the Global Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Research and Development (R&D) Hub as a new member. This was announced by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology in New Delhi.

This expands the global partnership working to address challenges and improve coordination and collaboration in global AMR R&D to 16 countries, the European Commission, two philanthropic foundations and four international organisations (as observers).

Congratulating India on its induction as a new member, the acting Chair of the Global AMR R&D Hub Board of Members and Director General of the Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control at the Public Health Agency of Canada, BersabelEphrem, said, “I am very pleased to welcome India as an important addition to our global partnership. Addressing AMR requires global action with active participation from all world regions and One Health sectors. Expanding the membership of the Hub works towards ensuring that different countries needs are incorporated when considering AMR R&D activities and actions”.

The Global AMR R&D Hub was launched in May 2018 in the margins of the 71^st session of the World Health Assembly, following a call from G20 Leaders in 2017. The Global AMR R&D Hub supports global priority setting and evidence-based decision-making on the allocation of resources for AMR R&D through the identification of gaps, overlaps and potential for cross-sectoral collaboration and leveraging in AMR R&D. The operation of the Global AMR R&D Hub is supported through a Secretariat, established in Berlin and currently financed through grants from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).

From this year onward, India will be the member of Board of members of Global AMR R&D Hub. By partnering with the Global AMR R&D Hub, India looks forward to working with all partners to leverage their existing capabilities, resources and collectively focus on new R&D intervention to address drug resistant infections. AMR is the ability of a microbe to resist the effects of medication that once could successfully treat the microbe. Today, the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance continues unabated around the world. Given the important and interdependent human, animal, and environmental dimensions of antimicrobial resistance, India considers it reasonable to explore issues of antimicrobial resistance through the lens of One Health approach which should be supported by long-term commitments from all stakeholders.

In a major boost to combat one of the gravest risks to global health a dedicated special vehicle in terms of Global AMR R&D Hub may allow partners to devote expertise in order to accelerate global action against antimicrobial resistance.