AIIMS Mangalagiri, in partnership with the Society for Antimicrobial Stewardship Practices in India (SASPI), hosted the National Annual Conference ASPICON 2025 from September 4 to 7 under the theme ‘Asserting AMR Awareness’.
The event opened with eight pre-conference workshops at AIIMS Mangalagiri on September 4, followed by a three-day scientific meeting in Vijayawada. More than 400 delegates and 100 speakers participated.
The conference focused on India’s escalating Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) crisis, driven by misuse of antibiotics, over-the-counter sales, prevalence of tropical infections, and gaps in implementing the One Health framework. Experts highlighted that drug-resistant infections are leading to higher morbidity and mortality across both hospital- and community-acquired cases.
A key milestone of ASPICON 2025 was the release of the “AIIMS Mangalagiri Declaration”, a 42-point Integrated Antimicrobial Stewardship (IAS) Practice Guidance. Developed through the Delphi consensus model by national experts, the declaration sets the stage for making antimicrobial stewardship a mandatory accreditation criterion for hospitals in India. SASPI also announced its collaboration with the Quality Council of India (QCI) to integrate the declaration into national hospital accreditation standards.
The declaration was officially launched on September 5 by senior health leaders, including Dr. Atul Goel, former DGHS, Prof. (Dr.) Ahanthem Santa Singh, Executive Director and CEO of AIIMS Mangalagiri, and senior SASPI members.
ASPICON 2025 also featured plenary talks, symposia, interactive case discussions, poster presentations, and demonstrations of novel diagnostics and stewardship technologies.