EGYPT – A new electronic system for tracking and monitoring antimicrobial resistance is set to launch in Egypt.

This news comes as the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) and Axis Pharma have signed a cooperation protocol to digitize national surveillance and economic evaluation of antibiotics.

The MoHP, through the Central Administration for Pharmaceutical Affairs, and Axis Pharma will co-develop a new digital tool for the enhanced surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in Egypt.

It builds on the government’s ongoing efforts to achieve comprehensive pharmaceutical care for all citizens in compliance with international standards.

The signing ceremony was presided over by Ghada Younis, the Head of the Central Administration for Pharmaceutical Affairs, and Islam Anan, the Executive Director of Axis Pharma.

As part of this deal, the two parties will jointly conduct research studies and provide consultations related to the economics of health and medicine in the areas of rationalizing the use of antibiotics.

The strategic alliance will complement the framework of implementing a national strategy to rationalize the use of antibiotics, which aims to improve the quality of healthcare for all.

This national strategy is a step that protects the health of Egyptians from the risks of the wrong use of antimicrobials causes the death of 5 million citizens globally every year.

Additionally, the MoHP and Axis Pharma will set up a national platform for data entry from hospitals participating in the national strategy to rationalize the use of antibiotics, analyze the records, and issue reports in this regard.

The Egyptian health ministry is working to provide health information, data, and the appropriate work environment necessary for the work team involved in the nationwide program.

Furthermore, the ministry will participate in the follow-up and presentation of evidence-based reports on the national program to rationalize the use of antimicrobials.

The MoHP will also provide consultations and studies related to the national strategy, applying the training of trainers (ToTs) model, for the rational use of antibiotics.

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 for health facilities.

Similarly, Zimbabwe partnered with the World Health Organization (WHO) to manage antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance data and to track antimicrobial resistance in the country.

Ethiopia also launched a Sector-Specific Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance prevention and containment, which is the first of its kind in the World Health Organization African Region.

Following the latest collaboration with Axis Pharma, the MoHP will build the capacity of pharmacists to keep abreast of the urgent global developments to rationalize the use of antimicrobials.

This move is in line with Egypt’s road to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to good health and well-being as antimicrobial resistance increases treatment costs.

Moreover, the upcoming antimicrobial resistance surveillance system will build on ongoing efforts to tackle the growing burden of irrational use of antibiotics in Egypt.

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