By IANS,
Jaipur: Even as 11 nations of the Southeast Asian Region have committed to strengthen policies on microbial agents resistant to drugs, union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Tuesday said that the country has seen “negligible development in the field of new anti-microbial agents”.
“Despite technological advancements in the field of health, there has been negligible development in the field of new anti-microbial agents. Lack of attention to this problem can hinder us from attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” Azad said at the inauguration of the 64th Regional Committee Session of the South-East Asian Region of the World Health Organisation (WHO) here.
The MDGs adopted by world leaders in 2000 are a set of targets to reduce poverty and improve living standards by 2015.
Anti-microbial resistance (AMR) helps disease-causing micro-organism to fight the effects of antibiotic or antiviral medicine. The microbes include bacteria, viruses and some parasites.
“The most important driver of anti-microbial resistance is irrational use of anti-microbial agents,” Azad said.
According to WHO, AMR is a consequence of the misuse of anti-microbial medicines and develops when a micro-organism acquires a resistance gene.
Delegations from countries such as Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh among others will participate in deliberations here Sep 7-9 for the WHO committee session.