Drug-resistant infections could cost global economy $100trn, kill 10m by 2050

 

MINISTERS of Health and Finance of Ebola-affected countries, international organisations and development partners have agreed on what needs to be done to rebuild and strengthen essential health services in these countries. 

 

   The stakeholders after a high-level meeting on how to strengthen systems of health in Ebola-affected countries agreed on the need to integrate all health services from clinical care to surveillance, health promotion, disease prevention and management, and palliative care.

 

   They also agreed that given the movement of people across borders of the Ebola-affected countries, it will also be important to coordinate national health plans across borders and align surveillance systems   Assistant Director-General of Health Systems and Innovation, World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Marie-Paule Kieny said: 

 

“People in Ebola-affected countries are dying – not only from Ebola but also from other causes – because the majority of health facilities in these countries are either not functional or people are not using them for fear of contracting Ebola.

 

   “A health system has to be able to both absorb the shock of an emergency like Ebola, and continue to provide regular health services such as immunization and maternal and child care.”

 

   According to a press statement by the WHO released at the end of the meeting, the key areas for improvement include: significantly strengthening health workforce; enhancing community trust, engagement, and ownership; and ensuring development of resilient sub-national health systems.

 

 

   The participants determined that substantial external financing would be needed to address key areas for improvement. This should be coordinated under the leadership of the national governments and in accordance with national plans.

 

   The meeting agreed that all sectors of government should be involved – notably health, finance and education.

 

   The Director-General of WHO, Dr. Margaret Chan invited governments to convene meetings at the national level, with key partners, to develop country specific plans. These plans should clearly identify needs in terms of health workforce, infrastructure and materials, and how to further engage communities.

 

   Also, a new report published yesterday has warned that drug-resistant micro-organisms popularly called superbugs could claim the lives of 10 million people each year, as well as hundreds of trillions of dollars by 2050.

 

   Vicious infections resistant to drugs already kill hundreds of thousands of people across the globe every year.

 

   But a review by economist Jim O’Neill claims the trend is set to get worse if urgent action is not taken.

 

   O’Neill heads the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, which was set up in July by Prime Minister David Cameron and 

 

published its findings yesterday.

 

   Antimicrobials are a class of drugs that includes antibiotics, antivirals, antiparasitics and antifungals. 

 

   The first paper from the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, chaired by economist Jim O’Neill found 700,000 deaths across the world each year are attributed to resistance to antimicrobials – a class of drugs that includes antibiotics, antivirals, antiparasitics and antifungals

 

   The report cites an example of E.coli that has now become resistant to the last-resort antibiotics, carbapenems.

 

   It said there are no effective drugs currently available to treat patients with that strain of the disease.  

 

   O’Neill said the review team, which based its analysis on work by researchers RAND and auditors KPMG, will search for ‘bold, clear and practical long term solutions’ to tackle the problem.

 

by Chukwuma Muanya