Antibiotics

PID PM Sheikh Hasina

PM Hasina calls for concerted action to prevent the arbitrary use of antibiotics

"Otherwise, the world could be at greater health risk than the coronavirus pandemic," she said.

"We are moving beyond the availability of available antibiotics (antimicrobial resistance) and may soon face another global emergency, which will be worse than the current Covid-19 pandemic," she said.

She spoke at the inaugural function of the One Health Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, throm her official residence through video conferencing.

Sheikh Hasina said, "There is no doubt that antimicrobial resistance has become a global health challenge for both humans and animals. Dangerous food production is leading us to dangerous results."

She also called on world leaders to address the risks to human and animal health, food safety, crop production and the environment as a whole.

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, as Vice-President of the initiative, also called on global leaders to make the initiative a success by providing technical and financial support for the effective implementation of the recommendations of the Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance.

She hoped that these leaders will mainstream this important health issue in all their keynote speeches, contributing to the global effort to fight the evils of antibiotics.

"Unnecessary use of antibiotics, wrong doses and overall weakened immune system are leading to serious situations," she said, noting that "Prevention is better than cure. We also need to ensure affordable availability of the new generation of antibiotics for all of us."

The group's vice-president, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, government ministers, the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), the director of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and leaders from the private sector and civil society, attended the event.