WHO country office in Sri Lanka conducted the antimicrobial consumption advocacy and awareness workshop on 13 November for 70 representatives from the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders related to the implementation of the Anti-Microbial Consumption (AMC) surveillance system reporting to GLASS-AMC.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to health and human development, affecting our ability to treat a range of infections. Treatments for a growing number of infections have become less effective in many parts of the world due to the resistance.
Over the past years, the use and misuse of antimicrobials have increased the number and types of resistant organisms to such an extent that it is now a problem posing enormous health and economic consequences globally. A meta-analysis study on antibiotics found that antibiotic consumption is associated with the development of AMR. Therefore, data from surveillance of antimicrobial consumption (AMC) are essential to tackle AMR and improve the management of infections.
As part of the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System, GLASS-AMC provides a common technical basis for setting up national surveillance systems on AMC and producing standardized AMC data. GLASS provides a standardized approach to the collection, analysis, interpretation and sharing of data by countries and seeks to actively support capacity building and monitor the status of existing and new national surveillance systems. Furthermore, GLASS promotes a shift from surveillance approaches based solely on laboratory data to a system that includes epidemiological, clinical, and population-level data. A major step forward in 2020 was the addition of global surveillance of AMC to GLASS which needs to be reported on an annual basis.
The objectives of the awareness and advocacy workshop was to increase the knowledge and capacity of the teams related to AMC surveillance in collecting and evaluating drug consumption data using ATC/DDD methodology. AMC data are estimates derived from aggregated data sources (ranging from macro-level, such as imports, distribution and sales, to micro-level, such as data on prescriptions, dispensing and insurance).
In order to produce AMC data three types of information are needed: (1) a list of registered antimicrobial medicines; (2) the quantities of medicines used in the public and/or private sectors and in community and/or hospital settings for 1 year (January–December); and (3) related contextual information to clarify the data being sent to WHO. According to its chosen methodology, WHO estimates AMC by using the international Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and expresses the quantities of antimicrobials in Defined Daily Doses (DDD) for humans.
Data on AMC will provide a basis for Sri Lanka to understand the patterns and amount of antimicrobials used nationally and create appropriate policies, regulations and interventions for the optimal use of antimicrobials.
The participants of the workshop were staff of Medical Supplies Division (MSD), State Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC), State Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Corporation (SPMC), and National Medicine Regulatory Authority (NMRA), Clinical Pharmacologists and other partners involved in medicines supply and regulation in Sri Lanka. Later, this workshop was followed by a hands-on training for 30 participants on 14 -16 November.
Under this backdrop, the establishment of AMC surveillance system to collect continuous data on AMC is timely and it will help to prevent and control the AMR in the future. In 2024, Sri Lanka will be the 6th country in the South-East Asia Region which reports AMC data to the GLASS platform.
However, further dialogue will be needed to include the private sector AMC data to the system and expand the AMC surveillance beyond human health.
References
Bell, B.G., Schellevis, F., Stobberingh, E. et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of antibiotic consumption on antibiotic resistance. BMC Infect Dis 14, 13 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2334-14-13
GLASS-AMC Module (who.int)- https://www.who.int/initiatives/glass/glass-amc-module