Global South Conference on Infection Prevention and Control in City from Today

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will be the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the prestigious three-day Global South Conference on Infection Prevention, Control and Antimicrobial Stewardship. Damodar Rajanarsimha, Minister for Health & Family Welfare will be the guest of honour.

Revanth Reddy will inaugurate the conference and launch the State AMR Plan. Six States in India have this plan in place and once the plan is unveiled by the Chief Minister during the conference, Telangana is going to be the 7th State India to have AMR plan in place.

The three-day conference will be held at Shilpakala Vedika in Hitech City, Madhapur here from October 3 to 5. Dr Ranga Reddy Burri, President, Infection Control Academy and Chair, G-SPARC and R Govind Hari, Chairman of the Pragyaan Sustainable Health Outcomes Foundation (PRASHO), and Co-chair, G-SPARC informed on Monday.

The objective of the conference, according to them, is to provide a platform for Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and Patient Safety stakeholders from Global South (resource-limited countries in Asia, Africa, Middle East, South America) to collaborate for better policies, research, tailored solutions and practices on IPC, AMS and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) and pandemic preparedness.

The organisers highlighted that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) impacts people of all ages and transcends borders affecting every country. However, the burden is disproportionately heavier on developing nations and vulnerable populations. This necessitates tailored solutions to address the unique challenges faced by the Global South. Therefore, collaborative efforts and South-South cooperation are essential in tackling global health threats like AMR.

Some of the prominent speakers at the conference include Dr Anuj Sharma, WHO India Office; Prof Chedly Azzouz, Chairperson, Infection Control Africa Network; Prof. (Dr.) Atul Goel, DGHS & Director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC); Shailaja Teacher, MLA and former Health Minister, Govt of Kerala. G-SPARC 2024 is organised by the Infection Control Academy of India (IFCAI), University of Hyderabad (UoH), and Pragyaan Sustainable Health Outcomes Foundation (PRASHO) with support from more than a hundred distinguished partners from academia, industry, healthcare organizations, and professional associations.

Addressing media persons at FTCCI in Red Hills, Dr Ranga Reddy said, Covid is nothing compared to ‘AMR”. Covid had a beginning and end. AMR is not like that. It is a slow pandemic and it will be an eternal pandemic. Due to the excessive usage of Antibiotics, even easily treatable diseases like Typhoid have become impossible to treat. AMR is invisible. Five million have already died due to this and several million will be losing their lives. Due to the ineffectiveness of the antibiotics, every second infection treatment is failing in India and Africa, Ranga Reddy said.

AMR is threatening our health systems in ways that we cannot even imagine. This silent pandemic is the indiscriminate usage of antibiotics. Eight lakh people are dying each year in India because of not being treated with antibiotics. Modern medicine may be in danger of extinction due to bacterial resistance infections. Since 1929, when Prof Alexander Fleming discovered antibiotics i.e Penicillin, within 90-plus years different types of antibiotics were developed/produced. Now we are using the 6th generation of antibiotics. Minimise the use of antibiotics and painkillers. We need to seek alternative measures, he said.

An action plan on AMR by the State government will be released during the conference. A white paper on pandemic preparedness, prevention of pandemics and so on will be released. The Government of Telangana recognised the importance of this conference and sponsored the venue, ‘Shilpakalavedika’, informed R Govind Hari.