| Azlan Othman |
THE Ministry of Health (MoH) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a training workshop to introduce the WHO Methodology on Antimicrobial Consumption Monitoring at the Al-’Afiah Hall of the ministry, recently.
Haji Zakaria bin Haji Serudin, Permanent Secretary at the MoH as the guest of honour inaugurated the workshop which will run until November 27. He said the MoH continues to place very high importance to safe healthcare delivery and combating antimicrobial resistance is high on its agenda.
“The WHO has reported that Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) occur in all countries, regardless of the level of their development. It is the most frequent adverse events in healthcare delivery that potentially can lead to significant morbidity and even cause mortality, affecting not only patients, but also healthcare workers and visitors,” the permanent secretary noted.
“Healthcare Associated Infections are infections that are acquired while receiving care at a healthcare facility. Often such infections are caused by antimicrobial-resistant micro organisms that have emerged as a global crisis, exacerbated by the inappropriate and irrational use of an antimicrobial. Studies have demonstrated a link between antimicrobial consumption and resistance emergence, suggesting that reducing inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing practices may curb the development of antimicrobial resistance.”
Haji Zakaria added that antimicrobial resistance is an increasingly serious lethal threat to public health with the possibility of going towards post-antibiotic era where even the most common infection can be life-threatening.
“With the realisation of this threat, antimicrobial resistance has been addressed by the World Health Assembly since 1998. In 2014, in the Western Pacific Region, three priority action agendas on antimicrobial resistance were endorsed which include improving surveillance of antimicrobial resistance and monitoring of antimicrobial use.
“In 2015, the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance with five strategic objectives was adopted globally, one of which includes strengthening knowledge through surveillance and research. In relation to this, WHO has developed a tool to monitor the antimicrobial consumption which would provide a common methodology for countries to collect and report national antimicrobial consumption data, help gather reliable and comparable national consumption data of countries, furnish information on the level of use and types of antimicrobials to policymakers and prescribers and provide a methodology that can be integrated into a global WHO surveillance programme,” Haji Zakaria added.
It is indeed very timely for the Ministry of Health to organise the training workshop, in collaboration with WHO, as a very important initiative in our efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance, particularly by promoting and increasing the awareness on WHO activities, regionally and globally, on antimicrobial use and resistance. It also serves as a platform to share Brunei Darussalam’s gaps and challenges in antimicrobial consumption monitoring and to learn from experts on how to close these gaps and face the challenges, the permanent secretary said.
Some 26 participants, comprising officers from the Medical Reception Station (MRS) of the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, the MoH, Jerudong Park Medical Centre, Panaga Health Centre and representatives from several private clinics, are attending the workshop.
This workshop is expected to translate ideas into concrete actions through which the ministry will be able to develop an effective national surveillance system in its efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance.
The workshop is facilitated by Dr Hege Salvesen Blix, Senior Consultant at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology and Antony Zorzi, Dr Verica Ivanovska and Dr Ketevan Kandelaki, WHO consultants.
The post Combating antimicrobial resistance high on Ministry of Health’s agenda appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.