Happy World Consumer Rights Day!
This year, the World Consumer Rights Day theme is: Antibiotics off the menu.
Antibiotics are medicines used to treat infections or diseases caused by bacteria (e.g. respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, skin infections and infected wounds). Antibiotics have saved millions of lives since they were first introduced in the 1940s and 1950s. However, because of the overuse and inappropriate use for example taking antibiotics for a common cold or flu or not completing the course of antibiotics, many antibiotics are no longer effective against the bacteria they once killed.
Antimicrobial resistance is the ability of bacteria, viruses, parasite and fungi to mutate or gain resistance genes to survive the effects of antimicrobials including antibiotics, antivirals, anti-parasitics and antifungals.
Antimicrobial resistance was first addressed by the World Health Assembly in 1998 as it was becoming a public health threat. It threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an increasing range of infections. Without effective antimicrobials, the success of modern medicine for example organ transplantation, chemotherapy and major surgery will be compromised.
In the Western Pacific region, a situation analysis in 2013 and 2014 highlighted three major challenges:
* Limited awareness and a lack of national comprehensive policies for Antimicrobial Resistance;
* A lack of national and regional surveillance systems to monitor antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use; and
* Limited regulation and implementation of health system responses to antimicrobial resistance.
Following a technical consultation in 2013 and a regional consultation with member states in 2014, the action agenda for antimicrobial resistance in the western Pacific region was developed to address those major challenges. The agenda focuses on actions targeting to develop and implement national plans on antimicrobial resistance, raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance across all sectors, improving surveillance and strengthening the capacity of health systems to contain resistance.
The World Health Assembly endorsed the Global Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance last year where member states are urged to develop national plans on antimicrobial resistance by May 2017.
At the end of 2015, five countries have already finalised their National Antimicrobial Resistance plan which includes Australia, Cambodia, Fiji, Philippines and Vietnam.
Every year, World Health Organization is now supporting a worldwide Antibiotic Awareness Week in November to promote the responsibly use of antibiotics. Ensuring good hygiene practices and taking antibiotics only when prescribed and for the full duration of the course are individual actions to reduce antibiotic resistance. The 2016 world antibiotic awareness week will be held from 14 to 20 November.
Patients infected with resistant bacteria often have prolonged hospital stays and worse clinical outcomes, accompanied by a larger health-care cost. Drivers of antibiotic resistance include the misuse (e.g. taking antibiotics for the common cold or other viral infections, not completing the full course of treatment etc.) and overuse of antibiotics, poor infection prevention and control as well as a lack of antimicrobial stewardship program in hospitals.
Everyone is responsible, and needs to play an active role in reducing the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance; this includes the general public, health-care workers, veterinarians, food handlers, and policy makers and key partners of all countries in the world.
Therefore, World Health Organization would like to thank the Consumer’s International for taking this great initiative in advocating the appropriate use of antibiotics both in animal and human health.