On World Food Day, 16th October, and few weeks before World Antibiotic Awareness Week (12-18 November), be welcome to join an eLearning session and have direct interface with experts on range of issues related to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. The cost of healthcare for patients with resistant infections is higher than care for patients with non-resistant infections due to longer duration of illness, additional tests and use of more expensive drugs.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the ability of a microorganism (like bacteria, viruses, and some parasites) to stop an antimicrobial (such as antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials) from working against it. As a result, standard treatments become ineffective, infections persist and may spread to others.AMR is a multi-sectoral problem affecting human and animal health, agriculture, as well as the global environment and trade. Clean water, sustainable food production and poverty alleviation are but a few of the challenges it poses.
More alarming is the fact that drug-resistant TB cases increased as per latest WHO Global TB Report 2018. In 2017, 558,000 people were estimated to have developed multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) globally, up from 490,000 people who were estimated to have developed MDR-TB in 2016. Also drug resistance is starting to complicate the fight against HIV and malaria, as well. Without effective antibiotics, the success of major surgery and cancer chemotherapy would be compromised.
Heads of governments adopted the Political Declaration of the High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance held around UN General Assembly in September 2016, that contained a request for the UN Secretary-General to establish UN Interagency group to coordinate global fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). That is why in March 2017, then Director General of WHO Dr Margaret Chan and UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed announced the formation of this UN Interagency Coordination Group on Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR).
Tuesday, 16th October 2018
1pm-2pm Geneva time
PANEL of experts:
- Dr Haileyesus Getahun, Coordinator, UN Inter-Agency Coordination Group on AMR (IACG), WHO HQ
- Watch 7:05 - 30:05 of webinar recording for Dr Getahun's presentation
- Garance Fannie Upham, Vice-President, World Alliance Against Antibiotic Resistance (WAAAR), co-Editor in Chief, AMR Control 2015-2018; Chief Editor AMR-Times
- Click here to watch Garance's interview
- Ashok Ramsarup (Moderator) and award-winning senior journalist and former Senior Producer, South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC)
- Shobha Shukla (Moderator) and CNS Managing Editor
Thanks
CNS eLearning Programme Team
Email: webinar@citizen-news.org
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