TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Govt offers new strategy to curb antimicrobial resistance
As AMR emerges as a global health concern, the government has launched a new strategy to better regulate and monitor the appropriate use of antimicrobials, including through public education, in both medicine and animal husbandry.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
(Stock illustration of drugs) A World Health Organization estimate indicates that bacterial infections resistant to antibiotics were directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths and contributed to 4.95 million deaths in 2019. (Shutterstock.com/File)
T
he Health Ministry has launched a new national action plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) amid rising global concern over what experts describe as a "silent pandemic".
AMR occurs when a microorganism develops a capacity to survive exposure to a medicine designed to stop its growth or kill it, such as antibiotics to treat bacterial infections and antivirals to treat viral infections. As a result, standard treatments become ineffective and infections persist, potentially spreading to others.
The new strategy targets the next five years until 2029 and focuses on strengthening capacity across laboratories nationwide for a more comprehensive, integrated system to monitor AMR and detect cases swiftly.
It also covers promoting the reasonable use of antibiotics in hospitals, including tightening their use and preventing their improper administration by healthcare workers, as well as educating the public on the dangers of AMR.
Health Services Director General Azhar Jaya said a coordinated response from various stakeholders, including academics, the private sector and the general public was crucial to ensure the effective implementation of the policy to combat AMR.
"We need a strong commitment from the central government, regional administrations, and hospital heads to be able to implement the new policy," Azhar said in a statement last week.
A Kompas investigative report published in March revealed that many doctors often inappropriately administer antibiotics to patients, such as to treat diseases that don't require antimicrobial agents such as dengue fever, vertigo, the common cold and constipation.
