BRIDGETOWN, Barbados— Inter-sectoral collaboration, commitment and action have been touted as crucial to strengthening regional diagnostic capacity to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) detection and surveillance in the Caribbean.
This is the objective of a Triangular Cooperation project between the government of Argentina, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). At the formal launch of the project at the Best-Dos Santos Laboratory in Barbados, on Friday, July 12, the speakers highlighted that AMR is a threat which has the potential to be more deadly than cancer and costs the world economy as much as US $100 trillion annually.
The ministry of health of Argentina, through its National Institute of Infectious Disease (Instituto Malbrán) and the National Food Safety and Quality Services (SENASA), are renowned for their work on AMR.
Gustavo Martinez Pandiani, ambassador of the Argentine Republic to Barbados and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) noted that his country has been collaborating with PAHO and the World Health Organization on this matter for more than 20 years.
“This South/South collaborative endeavor is in line with my country´s commitment to fostering stronger ties with the Caribbean, where we already have several cooperation projects in place on agriculture, food security, fish waste treatment, honey production, and many others. It is our hope that the AMR project contributes to…
