As a charity, we supply antimicrobials, free of charge, to the majority of the partner health units we support, in some of the most deprived parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa. Our donations are vital due to the dire shortage of effective medicines and to provide a safe alternative to the substandard and falsified products that are often available locally. The indiscriminate use of sub-effective antimicrobials is believed to have played a role in the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Both the O’Neill report https://amr-review.org/, The United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) highlight the responsibility that all healthcare providers and policy makers share, to address this issue that Inter Care takes very seriously.
We do our utmost to ensure that our donations are acquired, allocated and used responsibly by procuring the highest quality medicines from licenced suppliers. These medicines are allocated according to strict criteria, including an assessment of the level of expertise of the prescribers within the health unit setting.
Teams from Inter Care visit the health units to monitor and evaluate their facilities and expertise, whilst also getting regular feedback from the units about the suitability and use of our donations.
We keep up to date with new advice, guidelines and legislation on antimicrobial use especially new developments in the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. In the future, we aim to extend our support to include diagnostic materials to better enable the healthcare professionals to make informed decisions about the rational prescribing of antibiotics.
Written by: Dr Jean Widdowson B Pharm, PhD, MRPharm. S , Trustee/Responsible Person/Chair of Inter Care Medical Panel & Diane Hardy DChA BSc (Hons), MSc, General Manager.