Copy
View this email in your browser




SOUTH CENTRE NEWS ON AMR

 
No. 34, 1 November 2019

Visit the South Centre’s website: www.southcentre.int.

Follow the South Centre's Twitter: @South_Centre 
 

WHO launched a new toolkit to assist healthcare facilities in developing countries to improve the use of antibiotics


Tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in developing countries is a key public health challenge. Despite the progress in the implementation of National Action Plans to address AMR, more needs to be done to improve the use of the antibiotics that we do have and that are critical in providing adequate care. The new World Health Organization (WHO) toolkit called “Antimicrobial Stewardship Programmes in Health-care Facilities in Low- and Middle-income Countries. A WHO Practical Toolkit” provides information and guidance on the different steps that can be taken to set up, implement and monitor antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs in developing countries.


 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently published a comprehensive new toolkit to support developing countries in the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs (AMS). The toolkit can also be a tool to assist countries in the implementation of Objective 4 of the WHO Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): Optimizing the use of antimicrobial medicines. The Global Action Plan has five overall objectives and was adopted by all the Members of the WHO in 2015.[1]

The aim of an AMS program is: 

  • to optimize the use of antibiotics;
  • to promote behavior change in antibiotic prescribing and dispensing practices;
  • to improve quality of care and patient outcomes;
  • to save on unnecessary health-care costs;
  • to reduce further emergence, selection and spread of AMR;
  • to prolong the lifespan of existing antibiotics;
  • to limit the adverse economic impact of AMR; and
  • to build the best-practices capacity of health-care professionals regarding the rational use of antibiotics

 
The toolkit is divided into six sections which are: information on structures for national/state/regional AMS programs, structures for health-care facility AMS programs, planning an AMS program in a health-care facility, performing AMS interventions in a health-care facility, assessing AMS programs and education and training.

The toolkit also provides possible measures, indicators and useful checklists to guide implementers in the setting up of AMS programs. For example, the table[2] below illustrates one of the lists, included in the toolkit, to conduct the assessment of core elements needed at the national or state level for the implementation of stewardship programs.

 


 

The “Antimicrobial Stewardship Programmes in Health-care Facilities in Low- and
Middle-income Countries. A WHO Practical Toolkit” is available online and can be accessed at https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/329404/9789241515481-eng.pdf.

 
[2] Source: “Antimicrobial Stewardship Programmes in Health-care Facilities in Low- and
Middle-income Countries. A WHO Practical Toolkit” (Geneva, World Health Organization, 2019).



Author: Mirza Alas is Programme Officer of the Health, Intellectual Property and Biodiversity (HIPB) Programme of the South Centre. 
 
SOUTH CENTRE NEWS ON AMR is an e-newsletter service of the South Centre providing news and information on issues relating to Antimicrobial Resistance.

To view other articles in South Centre News on AMR, please click here.

To subscribe to this list or for more information, please contact Anna Bernardo of the South Centre: Email
bernardo@southcentre.int, or telephone +41 22 791 80 50.

 
Share
Tweet
Forward to Friend
Copyright © 2019 South Centre, All rights reserved.