Since August 2015, NICE International, an iDSI core partner, has been involved in a two-year collaboration to develop the existing National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Vietnam, funded by the Newton Fund. This project brings together the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, and the Health Strategy and Policy Institute (HSPI) with the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU), and NICE International.

Controlling antimicrobial resistance requires a determined action and effort, and the objective of this partnership is to create an evidence-informed methodology and a governed working process to develop and implement policies and guidelines. NICE International’s role is to advise on the development and implementation of quality standards and indicators for AMR, based on previous collaboration with Vietnamese policymakers and clinicians on developing quality standards for acute stroke.

The first workshop [report in Vietnamese] in September 2015, hosted by the Ministry of Health, was attended by delegates from different ministries, national and international agencies, and external AMR experts. Its purpose was to share operational experience, coordination and cooperation to prevent drug resistance in Vietnam, caused in part by overuse of antibiotics. Dr. Nguyen Thi Xuyen, Deputy Minister of Health, highlighted the need to implement the National Action Plan on prevention of drug resistance to combat this issue. A second workshop in Hanoi is planned for 10-11 December 2015, and will cover the development and implementation of quality standards and indicators for AMR.

This work will be one component of iDSI’s ongoing practical support for Vietnam, alongside further health technology assessment capacity building and strategic roadmap development to inform the health benefits plan.

In December 2015, Francoise travelled to Hanoi for a workshop to develop QS in AMR, which you can read more about here