Antibiotics have been a critical public health tool since the discovery of Penicillin in 1928, saving the lives of millions of people around the world. In developing country like ours, where the burden of treatable disease is very high and access to health facilities and laboratories is difficult, a...ntibiotics have long acted as miracle drugs. Today, however, the emergence of drug
resistance in bacteria is reversing the miracles of the past eighty years, with drug choices for the treatment of many bacterial infections becoming increasingly limited, expensive, and in some cases, nonexistent. Diseases previously regarded as relatively easy to manage are much harder to treat as doctors must use “last-resort” drugs that are more costly, take longer to work
and are often unavailable or unaffordable in developing countries. Moreover, regular prescription of antibiotics, random treatment, over the counter sales, inadequate dosage, inclusion of antibiotics in animal feeds and agriculture has contributed equally to emergence of antibiotics resistance as silent epidemic within the country.
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A practical approach for developing policy and strategy to improve quality of care
The handbook outlines an approach for the development of national policies and strategies to improve the quality of care. Such policy and strategy can help clarify the structures, roles and responsibilities within n...ational quality efforts, support the institutionalization of a culture of quality, and secure buy-in from health system leaders and stakeholders
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Namibia is no exception to the growingglobal concern on the increasing burden of NCDs. Namibia is an upper middle income country with fast economic growth since independence in 1990. The country is bearing the double burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases and rapid urbanizat...ion. There is also high income inequality among the population.
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Technical Meeting Report, 14-15 July 2020, Geneva