Overuse and misuse of antibiotics – a problem driven by the world’s poor and rich alike

Kibera alley way Kibera slum alley (photo via Flickr/Ninara)

As reported this week by Andrew Jacobs and Matt Richtel in the New York Times, ‘Kibera residents are prodigious consumers of antibiotics’.

Kibera area, one of Africa’s largest urban slums, is located in Nairobi, Kenya, with a population of around one million. Most people in the sl

um lack access to running water, electricity and medical care. Diseases caused by poor hygiene are prevalent.

Antibiotic resistance isn’t just a rich-country problem; it’s a global threat to us all. And the overuse and misuse of antibiotics that is helping to fuel resistance to antibiotic treatments is also not just a rich-country problem.

Consider Sharon Mbone, the Kibera resident described in the New York Times article. With no money to see a doctor to help her 22-month-old son recover from a fever, diarrhea and vomiting, she did what most mothers would do in her circumstance—she…

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About Dr. Bukar USMAN, mni

I started as a field Veterinary officer with Borno State Ministry of Agriculture and later joined College of Agric, Maiduguri as a lecture & a Researcher in the Department of Animal Health & Production. I was appointed the Provost of the College In 2003. In 2007 I was appointed Hon. Commissioner & Member Borno State Executive Council and later appointed Permanent Secretary with the Borno State Civil Service in 2009. I was the National Facilitator Animal Health, National Programme For Food Security of the Federal Ministry of Agric & Rural Development, Abuja. I was Director, Veterinary Medicine & Allied Products (VMAP) and now Director North East Zone NAFDAC. I’m a member of the National Institute’ (mni), Kuru SEC 40, 2018. I engaged myself in various aspects of the veterinary profession. I founded Sril Group Ltd, Nigeria.

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