QUESTION PERIOD — Health
Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance
May 29, 2024
Senator Gold, almost a decade after the Auditor General raised the alarm, Canada finally released its Pan-Canadian Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance. We are already behind international counterparts in bringing new antimicrobials to the domestic market. That means physicians and health care professionals in Canada do not have ready access to the full complement of globally available antimicrobials, limiting treatment options for Canadians.
Can you tell us what specific measures the government has put in place since the release of that report to ensure that Canadians have the same access to new antimicrobials as citizens from other Western countries do?
Thank you for your question, senator.
As part of the Pan-Canadian Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance, there are five pillars and associated priority actions. Under the research and innovation pillar, the government will develop and implement economic and/or regulatory incentives to support innovation and to facilitate sustainable access to new and existing antimicrobials, diagnostics and alternatives to antimicrobials. That is in addition to developing a National One Health Research Strategy for combatting AMR across all action plan pillars.
Thank you for that, Senator Gold. We are aware of what the report says. I was just wondering what action has been taken.
For example, as far as I can tell, funding for the action plan was not mentioned in the 2024 federal budget. Funding for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, or CIHR, is already inadequate to support international competitiveness and scientific research.
Can you share with us how this action plan will be funded?
Thank you.
Since its release there have been a number of initiatives under the plan that have been funded. That includes an investment of $6.3 million in the Combatting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator, CARB-X, in support of global and domestic antimicrobial innovation. It’s a non-profit organization and a global partnership that works to address the threat of antibiotic resistance. There is also funding through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, or CIHR, that established the AMR Research Initiative, which provides $1.8 million in annual grant funds.
