World Health Day 2011, observed yesterday, was dedicated to antimicrobial resistance, a major threat to patient care and disease control throughout the world.
Preventing antimicrobial resistance is a major public health challenge, PAHO/WHO representative in Guyana, Dr Beverley Barnett pointed out in a message on the occasion.
She said further that there are several requirements for countries to deal with these issues and an important one is government commitment and action.
In that light, the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) congratulated the ministry of Health here “for its efforts to update the national drug formulary, improve systems for procurement of pharmaceuticals, test for drug quality, provide protocols and guidelines for managing diseases and prescribing, and work with partners to strengthen surveillance for antimicrobial resistance, especially in HIV, malaria and tuberculosis,” Dr Barnett said, according to a copy of her message released to the media.
She noted that the ministry’s draft national medicines policy focuses on, among other things, policy implementation and management, legislation and regulation, human resource development, selection and rational drug use, procurement and supply management, financing and quality assurance. And this policy is well aligned with the Caribbean Pharmaceutical Policy which aims to guide Caribbean countries, she added.
Moreover, Dr Barnett said, the Caribbean Pharmaceutical Policy is guided by the main principle of access to medicines as human right and by public health values and principles, with emphasis on the renewal of primary health care.
Meanwhile, a draft of this regional policy will be presented to ministers of health and chief medical officers at the meeting of the CARICOM council for Human and Social Development (COSHOD) that will be held in Guyana during next week.
Antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to the control of communicable or infectious diseases, including HIV, malaria and tuberculosis.
Dr Barnett warned that “antimicrobial resistance occurs more easily when there is inappropriate use of these drugs and can happen if there is inappropriate prescribing, which includes unnecessary prescribing and self-prescribing, or failure to complete the prescribed course of treatment.”
“Other factors,” she added, “include the use of low-quality medicines, wrong prescriptions, poor infection control in health facilities and misuse of antibiotics in animal husbandry.”
World Health Day 2011 was aimed at raising awareness of factors that contribute to antimicrobial resistance, building commitment to common solutions across diseases, and encouraging the implementation of policies and practices that can prevent and contain antimicrobial resistance.
Under the theme, “Combat Antimicrobial Resistance – No Action Today, No Cure Tomorrow”, PAHO/WHO called for renewed commitment by all, including policy makers, health workers and patients, to make sure that antimicrobial resistance is prevented or minimized.
