Southeast Asia at Risk of Increasing Antimicrobial Resistance, WHO Says
Jakarta. Southeast Asia is considered at risk in the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday (06/09).
According to Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director of WHO Southeast Asia, there are multiple reasons that contribute to the growing concern of the spread of AMR in the region.
"Poor prescription practices, irrational use of antibiotics in livestock and an overall lack of awareness have led to the present situation," Singh said, as quoted in a statement received by the Jakarta Globe.
She added that a 'One Health' approach is required in this case, wherein health, veterinary and agricultural sectors cooperate to address the issue.
A series of articles on the issue and specific assessments on Southeast Asia were published by the United Kingdom-based medical journal, BMJ. The collection on "Antimicrobial resistance in Southeast Asia" explores different countries’ approach to combat AMR and provide new ways to analyze each country’s risk.
The collection is set to be launched at the 70th WHO regional meeting in Maldives at the end of September, the statement said.
With a quarter of the world’s population living in the region, the associated risks of increasing AMR "require urgent action," according to Kamran Abbasi, executive editor of the BMJ.
Antimicrobial resistance compromises treatment of infectious diseases and undermines advances in health and medicine due to the ability of microorganisms to resist the effects of medication that were previously used to treat them. This includes resistance to antibiotics as well.
In May 2015, the WHO endorsed a global action plan to tackle AMR during the 68th World Health Assembly, which sets out a number of objectives, including to improve awareness and understanding of the issue, and to strengthen existing knowledge through surveillance and research.
An analysis on the progress of antimicrobial resistance and containment in Indonesia, which is also included in BMJ’s collection, found that "Indonesia’s program to contain AMR is in the early phases of implementation," and the government has provided "considerable national funds to support national activities to combat AMR."
Challenges to contain AMR in Indonesia include "setting up strong governance" that involves "multisectoral collaboration and coordination" as well as "enforcement of policies for rational use of antibiotics."
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