Egypt develops electronic program to monitor antibiotics consumption at hospitals

CAIRO – 7 May 2022: The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population has confirmed training pharmacists on programs for the rational use of antibiotics.

Pharmacists were also trained on measuring consumption of antibiotics, in addition to the role of pharmacists in infection control, and achieving the quality of the health system.

Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Population, said that the training program aims to spread awareness and correct the concept of antimicrobial resistance, through continuous education and training, and to reduce infection rates, in addition to emphasizing the principles and foundations of the effective and rational use of antibiotics.

He added that an electronic model has been developed to monitor the consumption of antibiotics in hospitals, according to the standards of the World Health Organization.

The model is represented in the Point Prevalence Survey "PPS" model, which is a tool for evaluating the quality and use of antibiotics, within the antibiotic supervision program within health facilities, in preparation for its dissemination and training of pharmacists at hospitals.

Last December, the WHO office in Cairo organized an event to discuss visions regarding the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is rising worldwide as a global health and development threat. 

Among the attendees was Dr. Hanan Balkhy, the Assistant Director-General for Antimicrobial Resistance at the World Health Organization, who is visiting Egypt among her tour in the region.

“This problem neither new nor expected in the future; it is happening now,” said Balkhy. She explained that some countries announced national action plans in this regard, but such plans are still on the shelves and not activated yet.

Balkhy met then with the acting Egyptian Minister of Health Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, and discussions regarding the national action plan to combat antimicrobial resistance.

“There was good response, and we believe that Egypt has all required elements, and can be a model for other countries in combating AMR,” she added.