The cost of antimicrobial resistance (The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2 : Health
Prelims level : IACG report
Mains level : Highlights of the IACG report

Context

•  With nearly 10 million people estimated to die annually from resistant infections by 2050, health-care costs and the cost of food production will spike, while income inequality will widen.
•  In the worst-case scenario, the world will lose 3.8% of its annual GDP by 2050, while 24 million people will be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030. Nations must acknowledge this eventuality, the IACG says, and act to fight it.
•  For high- and mid-income nations, the price of prevention, at $2 per head a year, is extremely affordable.
•  For poorer countries, the price is higher but still modest compared to the costs of an antibiotic apocalypse.

Situations in India

•  India first published almost nine years ago the broad contours of a plan to fight antimicrobial resistance.
•  The difficulty has been in implementing it, given the twin challenges of antibiotic overuse and underuse.
•  On the one hand, many Indians still die of diseases like sepsis and pneumonia because they don’t get the right drug at the right time.
•  A poorly regulated pharmaceutical industry means that antibiotics are freely available to those who can afford them.

Highlights of the IACG report

•  The IACG report acknowledges these obstacles, and calls for efforts to overcome them.
•  Some steps can be initiated right away, it says, such as phasing out critical human-use antibiotics in the animal husbandry sector, such as quinolones. But these steps cannot be driven by regulation alone.
•  A multi-stakeholder approach, involving private industry, philanthropic groups and citizen activists is needed. Private pharmaceutical industries must take it upon themselves to distribute drugs in a responsible manner.
•  Philanthropic charities must fund the development of new antibiotics, while citizen activists must drive awareness.
•  These stakeholders must appreciate that the only way to postpone resistance is through improved hygiene and vaccinations.

Conclusion

•  It is a formidable task as India still struggles with low immunisation rates and drinking water contamination.
•  But it must consider the consequences of a failure.
•  While the 2008-09 financial crisis caused global hardships, its effects began to wear off by 2011. Once crucial antibiotics are lost to humankind, they may be lost for decades.

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General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) With reference to the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSPs), consider the following statements:

1. Framers of the Indian Constitution borrowed this idea from the Irish Constitution.
2. Courts can not declare a law to be invalid on the grounds that it violates a Directive principle.
3. They are automatically enforced and do not require legislation for their implementation.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: A
Mains Questions:
Q.1) India must brace for the economic shocks from uncontrolled antimicrobial resistance. Comment.