The government has drawn up a five-year plan in an effort to reduce the ‘wrongful’ use of antibiotics in the Netherlands and head off the development of antibiotic resistance.

In total, the health ministry has set aside €9m a year for the initiative, which will involve human and animal health experts working more closely together.

The plan has six main targets to improve and better monitor antibiotic use, broadcaster Nos says.

Patients will have to accept that they will be prescribed fewer antibiotics, antibiotics use in animals will also be cut back and more efforts must be made to improve food safety, the broadcaster says.

‘The Netherlands currently has a leading role in combating antibiotic resistance and we hope this plan will enable us to encourage others to better manage this problem,’ Jan Kluytmans of the Dutch microbiologists association told the broadcaster.

It also involves efforts to reach an EU-wide agreement on reducing the wrongful use of antibiotics. The Netherlands takes over the presidency of the EU next year.