Medical professionals from across Laos recently gathered for a meeting to address the current situation and challenges related to the treatment of antimicrobial resistance and the best practices for prescribing antibiotics in the country.
According to Dr. Bounfeng Phoummalayasith, the Lao Minister of Health, antimicrobial resistance is widely recognized as one of the top 10 global public health threats to humanity. He explained that it occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites gradually evolve into “superbugs” that no longer respond to medicines. This poses a significant risk to human and animal health, as well as the agriculture and livestock sectors.
In 2022, more than 700,000 people worldwide lost their lives due to drug-resistant diseases, and it is projected that this number could reach 10 million deaths per year by 2050, as reported by the World Health Organization.
During the meeting, medical professionals were urged to responsibly diagnose their patients and encouraged to take samples and send them to laboratories for testing before prescribing antibiotics. The WHO identifies the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials as the primary factors contributing to the development of drug-resistant pathogens.
Laos has made significant strides in combating this issue, thanks to a USD 1.5 million project funded by KOICA and WHO. This project provided extensive training, technical assistance, and laboratory equipment, as well as the development of guidelines and a surveillance system.
This training was also supported by the Fleming Fund, a UK aid program dedicated to combating antimicrobial resistance, laboratory capacity and antimicrobial resistance surveillance activities have increased in Africa and Asia.
According to the WHO’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) Report for 2022, Laos consumed 76.0 tonnes of Antibacterials (ATC J01, A07AA, P01A) in 2020.
