Medicines quality assurance to fight antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance is increasingly the focus of global attention. The adoption of resolution 68.7 at the 68th World Health Assembly1 was pivotal in the ongoing fight against antimicrobial resistance, as the resolution urges Member States to develop national action plans to fight antimicrobial resistance by 2017. To date, 67 Member States, out of 194, have already developed such plans, while 62 others are in the process of doing so.2 These national plans describe national efforts to combat resistance through strategies and interventions that often include strengthening surveillance of priority pathogens, increasing research efforts and optimizing the use of antimicrobials, among others. This paper suggests that product quality surveillance and other quality assurance measures should be thoroughly addressed in efforts to contain antimicrobial resistance. Including such measures in national action plans and key normative guidance documents for antimicrobial resistance is critical to containment, especially for lowand middle-income countries, where weak regulatory controls may increase the potential for poor-quality antimicrobials to be widely available.