THE Saudi Conference on the Safe Use of Antibiotics was launched last March 1, 2018 at the Prince Sultan Grand Hall in the Al Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh, with the objective to guide the community towards the safe use of antibiotics and raise awareness on the dangers of using them without a prescription. The conference was organized by the Saudi Center for Patient Safety and Nahdi Pharmacies, in a strategic success partnership with the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA).
The conference began with a welcome address by the representatives of the Saudi Center for Patient Safety and Nahdi Pharmacies, followed by a presentation on the issue of “Antibiotic Resistance and its Overall Impact” by Professor Benedetta Allegranzi, Coordinator of the WHO Infection Control and Prevention Unit. Following this, Dr. Abdulelah Al Hawsawi, General Manager of the Saudi Center for Patient Safety, delivered a presentation titled “Antimicrobial Resistance and Vision 2030: Challenges and Opportunities.” The conference also included the participation of other speakers who addressed various aspects of the safe use of antibiotics, in addition to three panel sessions that influenced the activities of the conference through interventions and exchanges of views.
Commenting, Dr. Hawsawi said: “Antibiotics have revolutionized the world of medicine, and they have enabled us to treat deadly infectious diseases and have even paved the road to other medical discoveries, such as using chemotherapy to treat cancer, organ transplantation, and others. As part of our efforts at the Saudi Center for Patient Safety to contribute to achieving the objectives of the National Transformation Program 2020 and the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, we have signed an agreement with Nahdi Pharmacies that includes a number of important clauses to drive the healthcare sector towards the highest levels, thereby attaining a vital, healthy community. One of these clauses is to educate and raise awareness among the community on the safe use of antibiotics.”
Eng. Yasser Joharji, the CEO of Nahdi Pharmacies, said: “We have agreed with the Saudi Center for Patient Safety to cooperate and spread the culture of using antibiotics the right way and improve the process of acquiring antibiotics through pharmacies. I would like to emphasize here that Nahdi has made progress in this regard through awareness programs implemented in its pharmacies, and we also agreed to activate a program for managing drugs and pharmaceutical consultations.”
Joharji added: “The organization of these important conferences comes within Nahdi’s strategy to be an inclusive community pharmacy, so that we can contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. We are fully aware that our responsibility requires playing an active role in educating the community, especially since statistics show that in Europe 25 thousand people die every day because of antibiotic-resistant diseases, while the annual cost of healthcare and productivity losses due to antibiotic-resistant diseases in European Union countries has reached 1.5 billion euros.” — SG
