On 30 January 2026, delegates from Bangladesh’s Department of Livestock Services (DLS), Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA), the Embassy of Denmark to Bangladesh, and the Danish Veterinary, Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Agency visited ICARS headquarters in Copenhagen to discuss ICARS-supported projects in Bangladesh and the opportunities for future engagement in the country’s AMR space. Â
The meeting at ICARS headquarters took place toward the end of a five-day visit to Denmark. During the visit, representatives from DGDA and DLS met with stakeholders across the Danish One Health system to learn about Danish approaches to cross-sector analysis and reporting of antimicrobial use and resistance data. Â
Key discussionsÂ
While at ICARS, the delegation met with members of the ICARS Science, Partnerships, Communications and Governance teams, as well as representatives from Executive Management. Â
At the start of the meeting, the delegation provided an overview of the strategic sector cooperation between Denmark and Bangladesh, which has been ongoing since 2024. This included valuable insights into the two countries’ shared goals related to food safety in the dairy value chain, AMR prevention in livestock, and sustainable and resource efficient dairy systems. Â
Dr Kristina Osbjer, ICARS Director of Science, then presented an introduction to ICARS and its mission. Theresa Høgenhaug, Head of Partnerships and Global Relations, provided an overview of ICARS’ global partnerships and collaborative efforts.
This was followed by a deep dive into an ongoing ICARS’ country project, ‘Reducing AMR and Methane Emissions on Dairy Farms using Probiotics and Seaweed Supplements’ presented by Cèlia Ventura I Gabarró, ICARS Science Officer for AMR and Climate Change. The project, which began in September 2025, is implemented in partnership with the Sylhet Agricultural University Department of Dairy Science, and investigates whether a seaweed-based feed supplements can contribute both to reductions in methane emissions and antimicrobial use.
Dr Holy Akwar, ICARS Science Advisor for Veterinary Sciences, and Dr Nandini Sreenivasan, ICARS Senior Science Advisor for Human Health, then shared insights into other areas of work that ICARS is exploring in Bangladesh, across both human and animal health. Â
In human health, ICARS will soon conduct a scoping visit for a project addressing the high rates of AMR in healthcare settings, through antimicrobial stewardship and improved infection prevention and control measures. Â
In animal health, ICARS is exploring a project to address widespread and unregulated antimicrobial use within contract poultry farming in Bangladesh. The project team aims to address this through targeted antimicrobial stewardship interventions and strengthened AMR governance. Â
Next stepsÂ
The meeting provided a valuable opportunity to gain local insights and perspectives on ICARS’ work in Bangladesh, including recommendations for scoping future projects. The ICARS team, DLS, DGDA, the Embassy of Denmark to Bangladesh, and the Danish Veterinary, Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Agency discussed the importance of capturing data on antimicrobial use and AMR within cross-country projects, to ensure that the Government of Bangladesh has robust evidence to support its National Action Plan on AMR. Â
