Strategy for the prevention and containment of antimicrobial resistance for Ethiopia

Abstract

Antimicrobials are a scarce resource that is used every day to treat infectious diseases in humans and animals. Unfortunately, the actions (and inactions!) by human beings have resulted in antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR has been recognized as a global threat to society in terms of its impact on public health and risk to the economy. Infectious diseases and AMR have been spreading fast from one part of the globe to the other due to travel, globalization, and changes in the environment. AMR is becoming a growing threat to the effective prevention and treatment of a wide range of infectious diseases caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses, and fungi. It is feared that even simple and treatable infections and injuries in humans and animals may kill and the world will return to the pre-antibiotic era. This calls for action and coordination of efforts at the local, national, regional, and global levels and for multi-institutional and multidisciplinary approaches to the prevention and containment of not only infectious diseases but also AMR. Although we cannot eradicate AMR, we can contain it to a manageable level.