Nordic ministers in united front against antibiotic resistance
Ministers for health and ministers for food and agriculture from the member countries of the Nordic Council of Ministers have agreed on a joint declaration to strengthen co-operation between the countries on antibiotic resistance and to establish a common voice externally, for instance in the EU.
“Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem that can give rise to major challenges in the healthcare service if we don’t tackle the issue effectively. Bacteria are oblivious to subject boundaries or national borders, which is why it makes perfect sense to deal with the problem as part of broad international co-operation,” explains Danish Minister for Health Sophie Løhde.
The Nordic countries want to establish a strategy group to promote the exchange of best practice and to ensure the efficient utilisation of Nordic resources within the field of resistance.
Danish Minister for Environment and Food Eva Kjer Hansen is pleased that we now have a joint Nordic platform for co-operation on antibiotic resistance.
“In the Nordic Region, we are experienced in keeping the use of antibiotics in agriculture at a low and responsible level because we know that their use can result in the development of resistant bacteria. Yet the problem of resistance is international, and this is why we would like to share our experiences so as to tackle the problem internationally,” Eva Kjer Hansen explains.
Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers Dagfinn Høybråten welcomed the cross-sectoral initiative:
“The Nordic countries are leading the fight against antibiotic resistance, and therefore this declaration is an important step on the road to solving a major international and interdisciplinary challenge. It is also a very concrete follow-up to Bo Könberg’s report on the development of Nordic co-operation on health,” he stressed.
