Lao Government raises World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week nationwide with UN agencies
Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR, 16 November 2023 – The Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), led by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, organized the press conference to mark the 2023 World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week (WAAW 2023) to highlight the danger posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The campaign was made possible with the support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Merieux Foundation, with this year’s theme being “Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance Together.”
The partners reinforced a “One Health” approach as the key avenue to tackle AMR globally and nationally through the engagement of all sectors – human, animal, agriculture and environment. This entails that individuals and agencies, government institutions, civil society organizations, academia or private entities, must all play an active role in tackling AMR. In addition, an increase in AMR awareness and protecting antimicrobial efficacy through best practices and responsible use among the general public, health workers, farmers, animal health professionals and policymakers, are necessary to avoid the further emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections. In this fight against AMR, behavior change towards prudent use of antimicrobials across all relevant sectors must be encouraged through simple and easy-to-digest messages and communication tools.
Ms. Khemphone Homlatsamy, Deputy Director General of Department of Livestock and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, acknowledged the adverse effects of the antimicrobial resistance caused by an improper use of the antibiotics. This has made antibiotics, which are crucial medicines used to fight many serious diseases, become ineffective in treating infections in humans, animals, and plants, especially in the new host. This results in treatment failure, higher costs, particularly in the livestock sector causing economic losses to farmers and livestock breeders. Due to treatment failure, the number of sick and dead animals has increased. In response to this problem, the Department of Livestock and Fisheries, which is the technical department responsible for the management of livestock, fisheries and veterinary, has actively contributed to the implementation of antimicrobial resistance control in the animal health sector in line with the National Strategy on the Antimicrobial Resistance Control from 2019-2023. Particularly on the occasion of the 2023 World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week, the Department of Livestock and Fisheries took this opportunity to disseminate the information on the results of the antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance surveillance in the livestock sector to the public to raise their awareness on the matter.
The available data shows that between 2020-2030, the AMR infections in the Western Pacific Region are estimated to cause 5.2 million deaths and economic cost of 148 billion USD in the region. This resistance and its subsequent outcome are due to the adverse impact of unnecessary use, misuse, overuse and underuse as part of full course prescription, and use as a growth promoter in livestock production.
To ensure that people are aware of the threats caused by AMR and its future consequences, in May 2015, a global action plan to tackle AMR was endorsed at the World Health Assembly, supported by FAO and the WOAH. The first objective of the plan was to “improve awareness and understanding of antimicrobial resistance through effective communication, education and training.” With this joint force, WAAW has been introduced every year since 2015.
In the pathway to fight AMR, FAO, WHO and key development partners in AMR supported the Government of Lao PDR to develop a cross-sectoral national AMR strategy and a national action plan on AMR to reduce the threat of AMR in agriculture, livestock, fisheries, food production and human health. This includes regulating responsible use of antimicrobials and the prevention and detection of acquired AMR. With expertise on AMR, FAO is working with the Department of Livestock and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, to guide prudent use and best practices. As expressed by Mr. Chanthalath Pongmala, Assistant (Program) to the FAO Representation to Lao PDR, “AMR is manageable and preventable when every individual is provided and equipped with the knowledge and know-how combined with their good intention and good will to put a stop on it.”
In this regard, Dr. Rattanaxay Phetsouvanh, Director General of Department of Communicable Disease Control, Ministry of Health, emphasized the role of each individual nationwide to actively use antimicrobials with care, only through prescription from the competent physicians and/or doctors. A strong multi-sectoral collaboration and commitment from all stakeholders involved are also needed to tackle the issues of AMR, he reinforced.
WHO is one of the leading agencies introducing the One Health approach in the fight against AMR. As noted by Dr. Ying-Ru Lo, the WHO Representative to Lao PDR, greater impact can be achieved when our work across human, animal and environmental sectors are integrated and synergized. This applies especially in the case of AMR, as the causes and mechanisms of spread are interlinked.
In Lao PDR, the first WAAW event was held in 2015. Since then, it has become an annual event to raise awareness of AMR, to serve as a reminder of the issues, and to gain support and engagement from a wide range of stakeholders from all sectors. Currently, there are more actors involved in the fight against AMR, including youth and the media, than ever before.
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