Government has warned over the abuse or inappropriate use of medicine stating that it is a major factor of drug resistance to certain illnesses or germs.
Zambia has joined the rest of the world in commemorating the world Anti-Microbial Awareness week which Started on the 18th of November 2022 and ends on the 24th of November 2022 under the theme “Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance Together”.
Speaking during a press briefing in Lusaka, Minister of Health Sylvia Masebo said Zambia has not been spared from the excessive and inappropriate use of medicine used for germs or illnesses which has turned drug resistance into a massive threat and a major public health threat affecting animals and humans and the environment.
She said that drug resistance has degraded the ability to fight diseases and may lead to massive negative consequences on people’s health and the environment at large.
“The germs that become resistant have the potential to spread within and across sectors, this why the government will keep the drug resistance high on its political agenda in the months and years to come,” she said.
“In doing so we will follow the one health approach that is working together across various sectors” she concluded.
Speaking at the same event Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority ZAMRA urged pharmacy operators to follow ethics and sale medicine on prescription to avoid drug resistance.
