Today, Saturday, Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Health and Population, announced the launch of the executive plan to protect citizens and future generations from antimicrobial-resistant diseases.
This came during the activities of launching the executive plan to combat antimicrobial resistance at the Ministry of Health, in the presence of Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, the representative of the World Health Organization in Egypt, and a number of leaders of the Ministry of Health, undersecretaries and directorates of health affairs in the governorates, in addition to doctors concerned with preventive affairs. And therapeutic.
In his speech, the Minister warned of a real threat to the lives of millions of people in all countries of the world if the indiscriminate use of antimicrobials, especially antibiotics, is not addressed and without consulting doctors, which may cause the emergence of new strains of microbes resistant to available antimicrobials, which takes the world back to a certain time. Before the advent of antimicrobials, when infections were life threatening.
Dr. Khaled Abdul Ghaffar explained that the ministry launched the executive plan to combat antimicrobial resistance in order to ensure the safety and security of citizens, and efforts and coordination will be intensified between all sectors and departments concerned in the ministry to achieve the target, and reduce microbes resistant to antimicrobials, in coordination with the ministries of higher education, agriculture, and the environment. In implementation of the “One Health National Strategy”, which draws a national road map to unify efforts towards improving human and animal health with the safety of plants and the environment.
In his speech, the Minister of Health and Population said that the National Program for Antimicrobial Resistance seeks to encourage the rational use of antibiotics, strengthen efforts to monitor antimicrobial resistance, and raise the level of adherence to infection control standards, through cooperation between citizens and health care providers.
The minister added that the national program to protect citizens from the indiscriminate use of antimicrobials will focus on educating and raising the level of knowledge of citizens and medical service providers about the rational use of antimicrobials, in addition to strengthening the monitoring of antimicrobial resistance to monitor its spread in society and health care facilities, to identify trends in antimicrobial resistance, and effective strategies. to combat it.
For his part, Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, Director of the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the World Health Organization, expressed his gratitude for Egypt’s signing of the Muscat Ministerial Statement on Antimicrobial Resistance, during the convening of the Third High-level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance in Oman, which reflects Egypt’s commitment to updating the action plan. national, appropriately improving human use of antimicrobials, and reducing their use in animals and in agriculture, affirming WHO’s support in this program or in implementing the broader revised National Action Plan, so that everyone can achieve WHO’s regional vision of Health for All And by all.”
In her speech, Dr. Naima El-Kaseer, WHO Representative in Egypt, said: “Cooperation is essential to reduce antimicrobial resistance to the lowest possible level, and here health workers play important roles in ensuring the responsible use of antimicrobials to treat prevalent infectious diseases, as well as individuals, families and civil society.” As a shared responsibility for health security.
Dr. Amr Kandil, Assistant Minister of Health and Population for Preventive Medicine Affairs, confirmed that the objectives of the implementation plan for the strategy of antimicrobial resistance include improving infection prevention and control practices, strengthening the capabilities of microbiological laboratories to ensure speedy and efficient laboratory diagnosis, and the rational use of antimicrobials, in order to govern the safe and effective use of antibiotics. .
And he continued: The goals are also represented in improving awareness of the importance of using antibiotics responsibly, and motivating doctors, nurses and pharmacists to use them correctly, noting the importance of developing strategies and supportive plans to spread environmental and societal awareness of the dangers of excessive use of antibiotics, in addition to strengthening control over the use of antibiotics. The plan also includes promoting scientific research and developing technological innovations to develop new treatments for antibiotic-resistant diseases.
It is worth noting that global estimates indicate that antimicrobial-resistant microbes directly cause 1.3 million deaths around the world each year, and according to the World Health Organization (WHO), antimicrobial resistance could cause millions of deaths by 2050 if no action is taken. No actions to counter it.
