Ministry of Health has warned that antimicrobial resistance related deaths will rise from the present 700,000 to about 10 million annually by the year 2050.
By Admin
The Minister for Health Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng says that people tend to continue using antibiotics in an unregulated manner from the heath care facilities, drug shops and homes.
According to the Health Ministry, Uganda currently spends an estimated USD 4,000 to treat a patient with resistant T.B as opposed to the cost of USD 250 for a patient with non-resistant T.B.
The World Bank estimates that antimicrobial resistance could drive up global healthcare costs by between 300 billion and 1 trillion dollars.
Antibiotics are also crucial for animal production. The World Bank estimates that by 2050, antimicrobial resistance could lead to a decline in animal productions by up to 7.5% and increase extreme poverty by up to 28 million people by 2050.
According to Dr. Aceng, infectious diseases that fail to get cured due to antibiotic resistance include; HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, respiratory tract infections, meningitis, neonatal sepsis and diarrhea that also account for 8 of the top 10 causes of premature death in our country.
She said this while opening the 3rd National Antimicrobial Resistance Conference and also launching the Uganda National Action Plan (NAP) in Kampala.
AMR is therefore a cross-cutting problem whose causes and consequences span beyond human health to involve the environment, agriculture as well as the economy. Its containment therefore requires a concerted multi-sectoral approach in the spirit of one health.
She notes that, the Ministry of Health in collaboration with partner Ministries on the One Health Platform including Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries, the Ministry of Water and Environment, the Uganda Wildlife Authority and among others embarked on developing a National Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance.
