UK to help Vietnam fight against antimicrobial resistance

Vietnam and the United Kingdom will cooperate in fighting against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Vietnam over the next three years, according to a Memorandum of Understanding signed in Hanoi on November 26.
UK to help Vietnam fight against antimicrobial resistance ảnh 1The 2021-2023 Partnership to fight against AMR in Vietnam between the Vietnamese Ministry of Health (MoH)’s Medical Service Administration, the British Embassy in Vietnam and the Representative Office of GSK Pte Ltd in Vietnam is signed on November 26. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and the United Kingdom will cooperate in fighting against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Vietnam over thenext three years, according to a Memorandum of Understanding signed in Hanoi on November 26.

The 2021-2023 Partnership to fight against AMR in Vietnam betweenthe Vietnamese Ministry of Health (MoH)’s Medical Service Administration, theBritish Embassy in Vietnam and the Representative Office of GSK Pte Ltd inVietnam was signed on the occasion of the World Antibiotic Awareness Week.

This healthcare partnership aims to support the Vietnamesegovernment’s long-term strategy articulated in the “National Action Plan on AMR”,and aligns with the initiatives of the UK Government to support developingcountries in solving the AMR problem.

“The National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance forthe 2013-2020 period and development of a strategy for the next five years areamong the most important focuses of the health sector,” said Assoc. Prof. LuongNgoc Khue, Director of the Medical Service Administration and Deputy Head of theMoH’s Vietnam National Steering Committee for AMR.

“With the companionship of the UK Government and companiesin the health sector such as GSK, the fight against AMR in Vietnam will beapproached in a more comprehensive way. Ongoing medical training programmes forhealthcare professionals and awareness raising support, community education arealso planned to improve the effectiveness of fighting against this medicalburden”, he said.

British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward said: “The UK iscommitted to working with Vietnam on tackling health issues like AMR and wehave raised the level of ambition within our strategic partnership agreement."

“Antimicrobial resistance is becoming a global health crisisand we need to increase our collective efforts to address this challenge inorder to secure the health and wellbeing of our future generations.”

AMR is one of the world’s most critical healthcarechallenges. It is caused by the inappropriate use of medicines, for exampleusing antibiotics for viral infections such as cold or flu, or sharingantibiotics; low-quality medicines, wrong prescriptions and poor infectionprevention and control also encourage the development and spread of drugresistance. It is estimated that by 2050, the number of people dying fromantimicrobial resistance could reach 10 million.

In Vietnam, the rate of AMR is among the highest in Asia,causing thousands of deaths annually./.
VNA

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