Dar’s new national plan breathes life to AMR fight

KATARE MBASHIRU

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elders and Children, Dr Mpoki Ulisubisya

 TANZANIA may soon get rid of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) if the newly launched AMR National Action Plan is fully implemented.

The plan was launched on Friday by the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elders and Children, Dr Mpoki Ulisubisya.

Among other things, the plan aims at improving awareness and understanding on AMR through effective communication, education and training as well as strengthening knowledge and evidence base through surveillance and research.

Other objectives of the newly launched plan according to Dr Ulisubisya, is to reduce infection through effective sanitation, hygiene and infection prevention measures, optimizing the use of antimicrobial medicines in human and animal health.

“This plan also seeks to develop the economic case for sustainable development that takes accounts of the needs of all countries and to increase investment in new medicines, diagnostic tools, vaccines and other interventions,’’ he said, just few minutes before launching the plan.

The document further specifies the establishment of the National AMR Coordinating Committee, the technical working groups, the secretariat and the AMR focal point. It further describes the implementation structure at different levels. The AMR National Action Plan, after a two-day symposium on MNR, brought together medics, researchers and other stakeholders in the health sector held in Dar es Salaam.

The symposium was jointly organised by the government through the Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Elders and Children in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Health Promotion and System Strengthening (HPSS) Project dubbed ‘Tuimarishe Afya’ funded by the Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency (SDC), implemented by the Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH).

The symposium which featured presentations focusing on AMR from a variety of angles was followed by working sessions that aimed at raising awareness on AMR and translate evidence into policy and action to effectively address the threat of AMR in Tanzania and handle antibiotics with care. AMR is a serious problem in the human health care and agricultural sector, according to the global report on AMR published by WHO in 2014.

A decrease in effectiveness among antimicrobials is leading to an unnecessary high morbidity and mortality rates and a great loss of resources globally. According to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Professor Muhammad Bakari, the newly launched AMR National Action Plan is in line with the Global Action Plan, addressing the area of awareness, communication, education, surveillance system, laboratory capacity, research and development, infection prevention and control as well as health waste management.

“In Tanzania, awareness on AMR is very low among consumer groups and civil society, even though they do play a crucial role in combatting AMR, thus, we need a way to target behaviour of all factors that contribute to misuse of antimicrobials, especially by involving communities,’’ said Prof Bakari.

The Acting WHO Representative, Dr Richard Banda, said AMR was one of the threats to global health and that it endangers human development.

“Common infections are becoming resistant to the antimicrobial medicines that result in longer illness and more deaths,’’ he said. According to Dr Banda, if left unchecked, AMR was likely to make common dental and surgical procedures risky and infections more difficult to treat.

“This year, the World Antibiotics Awareness Week will be commemorated from 13 to 19 November. WHO is encouraging member states, partners and the public in general to join this campaign and help raise awareness of antibiotic resistance,’’ he noted.