IPSF APRO Policy Writing: World Antibiotic Awareness

01.05.2020

World Antibiotic Awareness

The International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation represents over 500,000 pharmacy students and organizations in over 90 different countries worldwide. The IPSF Asia Pacific Regional Office (IPSF APRO) of which represents approximately 55,000 members from 19 countries empowers its Member Organizations and the public to rise up against a variety of health issues through education and awareness.

Antibiotics are essential medicines that are used to treat diseases from bacteria, protozoa, and fungi.1 They enabled the treatment of various diseases that were fatal prior to their discovery. Recently, however, there is a growing concern with the use of antibiotics. Antibiotics have begun to lose their effectivity due to antibiotic resistance.2 The process of which occurs naturally but misuse of antibiotics accelerates the process. Identified activities that exacerbate the situation are overuse of antibiotics, inappropriate prescribing, extensive agricultural use, unavailability of new antibiotics, and regulatory barriers3. This entails that an increasing number of infections which include pneumonia, gonorrhoea, tuberculosis, and salmonellosis are becoming harder to treat.

To combat antibiotic resistance, the Antibiotic Awareness Week was endorsed in the Sixty-eighth World Health Assembly held in 2015. The aim of Antibiotic Awareness Week is to increase awareness of global antibiotic resistance and to encourage best practices among everyone especially the general public, health workers, and policymakers as to avoid further complications arising from antibiotic resistance.4 One of its notable key objectives is to improve awareness and understanding of antimicrobial resistance through effective communication, education, and training.

In line with this, IPSF APRO is keen in promoting the appropriate and responsible use of antibiotics. During the 2019 Antibiotic Awareness Week, IPSF APRO conducted several activities that support the goal and key objective of the Antibiotic Awareness Week. APRO has released numerous infographics, translated in languages throughout the Asia-Pacific Region. This was done with the aim to #BeatAMR by informing the public about proper handling of antibiotics not just for human consumption but also for veterinary treatments. They encouraged their members to post a 10-second video highlighting personal tips to help beat AMR. And, they even featured Dr. Emmanuel Eraly under the Department of Antimicrobial Resistance of the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific to talk about antimicrobial resistance.

The IPSF APRO will sustain its efforts to educate the general public as well as inform policymakers by employing effective communication, education, and training efforts. This will be done online through the social media accounts of the organization as well as during the activities of its various member organizations. The IPSF APRO will continue to spearhead the cause of battling antibiotic resistance; therefore, they also encourage everyone to be responsible consumers of antibiotics

 

References:

1.     Zimdahl, Robert L. Six chemicals that changed agriculture. Academic Press, 2015.

 

2.     WHO | Antibiotic Resistance. WHO. 2018. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antibiotic-resistance

 

3.     Ventola, C. Lee. "The antibiotic resistance crisis: part 1: causes and threats." Pharmacy and

therapeutics 40, no. 4 (2015): 277.

 

4.     WHO | World Antibiotic Awareness Week. WHO. 2020. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/campaigns/world-antibiotic-awareness-week

 

Policy Writing written by:

Mr. Bill Whilson Baljon

IPSF APRO Secretary Subcommittee 2019-20

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Policy Writing reviewed by:

Ms. Wendy Yu-Wun Jian

IPSF APRO Secretary 2019-20

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