Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and the Danish Embassy on behalf of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, signed an agreement on a three-year Strategic Sector Cooperation Project.
The signing ceremony took place on Wednesday.
Through signing the new project Denmark and Bangladesh have further strengthened cooperation on food and agriculture to supporta safe and sustainable food production in Bangladesh.
This new project will address the critical issue of antimicrobial resistance and misuse of antibiotics in food production.
18-24 November is alsoAntimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Awareness week, and one of the challeng-es that creates antimicrobial resistance is the misuse of antibiotics in food production. The number of AMR deaths in Bangladesh is higher than deaths from chronic respiratory, diabetes and kidney dis-eases.
Danish Ambassador to Bangladesh, Christian Brix Møller said ´Antimicrobial resistance is one of the top global public health threats, and a major challenge in Bangladesh. Denmark is honoured to be in this partnership with Bangladesh to work towards high standard food production for the population. ´
SM Ferdous Alam, Director General of BSTIalso said´This initiative will strengthen the relationship between Bangladesh and Denmark. Such collaboration will be fruitfulas Den-mark is pioneering in best practices in this area of work”.
The involvement of DVFA will also enhance our knowledge and capabilities, and improve the efficiency of dairy production in Bangladesh. Moreover, it will ensure better nutrition from a novel food source and ultimately contribute to the economy, he added.
This week an expert delegation from the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration will also hold discussions with the partners of this project including DLS, BFSA, BSTI and DGDA on how to ensure and promote a more prudent use of antibiotics to reduce and avoid AMR in Bangladesh.
These exchanges will be held in line with the theme for the World AMR Awareness Week 2024 which is “Educate. Advocate. Act now.”
