Neonatal deaths represent 44% of all deaths in children under the age of five
Over 80 researchers from 11 countries met today to understand sepsis in newborns and current antibiotic prescribing practices.
This is part of the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership’s (GARDP’s) broader programme to develop new and improved antibiotic treatments for newborns. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) as a founding partner of DNDi ( Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative) has been instrumental in GARDP’s set up and programmes in India.
The Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) established in 2016, is a joint initiative by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi). GARDP collaborates with public and private partners to tackle unaddressed public health gaps, notably for drug-resistant bacterial infections.
While significant progress has been made in recent years to improve child health globally, including a 50 percent reduction in child mortality since 1990, the number of preventable deaths in newborns remains unacceptably high.
Neonatal deaths now represent 44 percent of all deaths in children under the age of five. Of great concern, is the estimated 214,000 deaths in newborns attributable to drug-resistant infections.
Anupriya patel MoS Health and Family Welfare said that Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development
GARDP’s observational study is responding to this global concern. The data generated from the study will inform GARPD’s ambition to develop and deliver new antibiotic treatments for newborns with drug-resistant bacterial infections.
Limited research on newborns has resulted in a lack of evidence about appropriate treatment of serious and drug-resistant infections in this vulnerable population.
Speaking on the occasion Smt Anupriya patel MoS Health and Family Welfare said that Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today. It is a major and rapidly growing public health problem globally, with estimates of up to 700,000 deaths per year. AMR is threatening to compromise the gains we made as a country to control the infectious diseases like malaria, and tuberculosis.
