What Must Be Done?
Governments must take strong measures to stop over-the-counter availability of antibiotics, while strengthening and enforcing legislation to prevent the manufacture, sale, and distribution of substandard antibiotics. These measures must be accompanied with campaigns to encourage behavioural and cultural changes in prescribers and patients so that antibiotics are no longer considered the first treatment option. Measures are also needed to stem the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics, including in livestock and fisheries industries.
In May last year, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution and endorsed a Global Action