World Antimicrobial Awareness Week from 18 to 24 November

• 19 Nov 2022

Why In News?

• On November 18, 2022, Rajasthan Medical and Health Minister Parsadi Lal Meena inaugurated the World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (November 18 to 24) by flying balloons from his state residence in Jaipur and also released an awareness poster of antimicrobial resistance.

Key Points

• This program is being organized in collaboration with the Department of Medical and Health, Department of Medical Education and the development partner of this program, PATH.
• It is worth mentioning that World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week is being organized in the state from November 18 to 24 as a global campaign by the World Health Organization to create awareness about antimicrobial resistance among the general public. This year's theme has been set by WHO 'Preventive Antimicrobial Resistance Together'.
• On this occasion, Parsadi Lal Meena appealed to the people of the state to keep their surroundings clean and consume quality clean nutritious food to avoid any kind of infection. Under the 'Chief Minister Free Nirogi Rajasthan Yojana', all types of IPD and OPD services are available free of cost to the people of the state in all government medical institutions.
• He informed that during this week, various awareness programs will be organized across the state to make the general public aware about antimicrobial resistance. Quiz and oath programs will be organized at the district level along with the state level programs, so that people are aware of antimicrobial resistance.
• Antimicrobial resistance is a condition in which disease-causing microbes, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, become resistant to drugs. In common parlance, antimicrobial resistance is the acquisition of resistance by a microorganism (virus, bacteria, etc.) to a drug used to treat an infection. As a result, standard treatments are ineffective or less effective, and this can lead to the spread of disease and death. Due to less effectiveness of medicines, this infection remains in the body and the risk of spreading to others remains. Due to this the cost of treatment increases and there is a possibility of increase in mortality rate.
• The World Health Organization has identified antimicrobial resistance as one of the top 10 threats to global health. According to data from the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System, resistance to important antimicrobials is increasing globally.
• In order to make Antimicrobial Resistance Free Rajasthan, special efforts are being made by the Rajasthan Government to strengthen health services by taking historic steps. A special awareness campaign will also be conducted on social media during this week.