Applying the lessons of Covid 19 to the silent pandemic of Antimicrobial Resistance
Claire Doole
Event presenter, panel moderator, trainer -talking to the media, speaking in public, speechwriting, storytelling and panel moderating
Covid 19 has the been the first devastating pandemic we have experienced in a generation. However, there is already another pandemic upon us – the silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance that claims some 700,000 lives a year.
For years antibiotics used to fight various bacterial infections have grown less effective. If current trends continue these antibiotics could stop working altogether leaving us vulnerable to deadly drug resistant super bugs.
So, it was a pleasure to moderate a webinar for Global Antibiotic R&D Partnership (GARDP) on how to apply the lessons learnt from COVID 19 to tackling the antibiotic resistance.
The jury is still out but it looks as if COVID may have exacerbated antibiotic resistance due to over prescription of antibiotics for secondary infections.
The big lesson from COVID has been the importance of equitable access to diagnostics, treatments and vaccines.
“We have to ensure equitable access as we can see from COVID 19 it is not effective to spend billions of dollars developing drugs or vaccines if in the end you apply these health tools in an inadequate, inappropriate or inequitable way.” Dr Manica Balasegaram Executive Director of the Global Antibiotic R&D Partnership (GARDP)
“The time for the apologetic nature of global health needs to change. Low- and middle-income countries can no longer be bystanders or recipients they must be seen as partners in the COVID and AMR response.” Dr Marc Mendelson Professor of Infectious Diseases, Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town.
“We need a change of mindset if we are to effectively tackle pandemic global health threats like COVID 19 and AMR . They need to be raised to the level of an existential threat like a chemical weapon or a nuclear weapon.” Joanne Liu, MDCM, FRCPC Associate Clinical Professor at Montreal University and Former President of MSF International.
“COVID 19 needs to be our Chernobyl moment to make sure we put forward our best tools and our best political will to tackle the next pandemic that comes”. Joanne Liu, MDCM, FRCPC Associate Clinical Professor at Montreal University and Former President of MSF International.