Combating anti-microbial resistance

The recent warning by the World Health Organisation (WHO) about the global emergence and menace of Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) remains a source of worry. AMR is the resistance of a micro-organism to a drug that was originally effective for treatment of infections caused by that microbe. It is currently one of the greatest global crises in public health.

The problem of AMR is the cumulative effect of indiscriminate use of antibiotics before consulting  physicians who sometimes contribute to the problem by usually treating patients with broad spectrum antibiotics without carrying out proper diagnostics.

The picture today is dire. Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) such as gonorrhoea, Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs), tuberculosis, and a growing list of other antibiotic-resistant infections are getting dangerously close  to being untreatable. These disorders cause serious complications; some are permanently disabling and even life-threatening.

For instance, gonorrhoea used to be susceptible to common but powerful antibiotics such as penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline and doxycycline.   But one by one, each of these antibiotics — and almost every new one that has been produced —have gradually stopped being effective.

Certainly, the global perspective on challenges of antimicrobial resistance cannot be ignored. If anything, the growing threat is a wake-up call. Nigeria’s call for expedited international action by the United Nations General Assembly, UNGASS, during the High Level Meeting on AMR held in New York is commendable. The international call to action notwithstanding, the need for urgent and improved global awareness, strengthening of the nation’s health systems, knowledge about effective response mechanisms as well as investment in surveillance and research remain desirable.

The Federal government must live up to its own call for urgent and improved global awareness to the antimicrobial resistance threat by ensuring commensurate local response that is scientifically, politically and socially appealing. The message to stop prescribing antibiotics when  not needed should be adopted as slogan within medical circles in the country. The relentless search should continue for new combinations of antibiotics that might work as well as pushing for new medical weapons to enable the world stay  ahead of the threat.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration & Control (NAFDAC) and other regulatory agencies tasked with fighting the antimicrobial resistance challenge should lead the response by deploying their AMR action plan.

NAFDAC, which has been strengthened to regulate, control, monitor, and establish institutional measures to ensure quality and safety of antimicrobials should live up to its calling. Nigerians must begin to witness and appreciate the national capacity to expand the horizon of understanding of the scale and implications  of the problem of AMR and deal with it once and for all.

The post Combating anti-microbial resistance appeared first on Vanguard News.