Friday, April 8, 2011

World Health Day 2011 focus on antimicrobial resistance and its global spread.

World Health Day was observed on April 7 across the globe including Pakistan. This year theme of the World Health Day is “Antimicrobial resistance: no action today, no cure tomorrow”.

Each year, the World Health Organization selects a key global health issue and organizes international, regional and local events on the Day and throughout the year to highlight the selected area.


World Health Day 2011 focus on antimicrobial resistance and its global spread. Antimicrobial resistance threatens the continued effectiveness of many medicines used today to treat the sick, while at the same time it risks jeopardizing important advances being made against major infectious killers.

Antimicrobial resistance is not a new problem but one that is becoming more dangerous; urgent and consolidated efforts are needed to avoid regressing to the pre-antibiotic era. On this day, WHO introduced a six-point policy package to combat the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

Drug resistance is becoming more severe as many infections are no longer easily cured, leading to prolonged and expensive treatment and greater risk of death, warns the World Health Organization (WHO).

World Health Day is celebrated every year to mark the establishment of WHO on April 7th 1948. Under the theme “Combat Drug Resistance”, WHO has called for urgent and concerted actions by the governments, health professionals, industry, civil society, and patients to slow down the spread of drug resistance and limit its impact today to preserve medical advances for future generations.

The message this year is loud and clear while the world is on the brink of losing these miracle cures, said WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan.

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