PHA-Exchange> UN HEALTH AGENCY SEEKS TO COMBAT DANGEROUS MISUSE AND OVERUSE OF MEDICINES

[Claudio]

> UN HEALTH AGENCY SEEKS TO COMBAT DANGEROUS MISUSE AND OVERUSE OF MEDICINES
> New York, Mar 29 2004 10:00AM
> With misuse and overuse accounting for almost half the total global use of
medicines with potential severe consequences such as
> drug resistance and even death, the United Nations health agency today
called for multilateral partnerships to set up advocacy and
> education programmes especially in developing countries.
>
> �Most people see a lack of access to medicines as the main problem,� the
interim Director of Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy
> at the UN World Health Organization (WHO), Hans Hogerzeil, said in a news
release on the eve of a global meeting in Chiang Mai,
> Thailand. �Unfortunately, the irrational use of available medicines is
also a major threat to health and leads to considerable
> waste.�
>
> Irrational use of medicines includes over-treatment of a mild illness,
inadequate treatment of a serious illness, misuse of
> anti-infective drugs, over-use of injections, self-medication of
prescription drugs and premature interruption of treatment.
> Several country figures show that such practices are frequent, and not
exclusively in developing countries.
>
> At the Chiang Mai meeting opening tomorrow WHO and donor governments,
foundations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will
> spend four days looking at ways to improve use of medicines in developing
countries.
>
> Almost half of all medicines globally are used irrationally, with such
potential consequences as adverse drug reactions, drug
> resistance, protracted illness and death. In addition, financial cost
incurred by individuals and governments due to irrational
> use is often extremely high, particularly in developing countries.
>
> �Misuse of antibiotics, overuse of injections, and under-use of
life-extending drugs for illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, heart
> disease, and other chronic illnesses together constitute a global epidemic
of irrational use of medicines,� said Jonathan Quick,
> incoming president of Management Sciences for Health, a meeting
co-sponsor. �This epidemic results in untold needless suffering
> and costs millions of lives each year.�
>
> According to figures gathered by surveys presented to WHO, in 2000 about
60 per cent of antibiotics in Nigeria were prescribed
> unnecessarily. In Nepal, more than half of antibiotics prescribed in 1996
were not needed and 40 per cent of medicine expenditures
> in the same year was wasted due to inappropriate prescriptions.
>
> Overuse of most medicines contributes to drug resistance. For example,
overuse of chloroquine, the traditional remedy for malaria,
> has led to resistance which has been recorded in over 80 countries.
Resistance to penicillin, used to treat gonorrhoea, is present
> in as many as 98 per cent of patients in certain regions.
>
> Irrational use of drugs due to inappropriate prescription can also lead to
adverse drug events causing illness or death. In the
> United Sates, adverse drug events represent one of the six leading causes
of death.