Optimising the use of antimicrobial medicines in Sudan

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been a priority area identified by the Government of Sudan and development partners. This paper is part of a study in Sudan using the available documents covering relevant fields pertaining to AMR and interviews with key informants from World Health Organization (WHO) office Sudan, Federal Ministry of Health and other relevant entities. Documents were obtained from related websites for policies, strategies, guidelines, reports, and plans as well relevant international and government agencies in Khartoum. The study was guided by the WHO’s five strategic objectives of Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance. This paper focuses on the fourth objective on optimising the use of antimicrobial medicines in human health and animal health. The study revealed the presence of numerous policies and guidelines on antibiotic use and generic prescribing at different levels with little evidence of their implementation. There were a lack of supervisory or monitoring systems to ensure proper and rational prescribing, and appropriate dispensing of antimicrobials in both public and private sectors. The system is weakened due to low capacity for monitoring and checking as a result of limited resources both in terms of human resources, skills, tools and quality checks to ensure the quality of medicines post-marketing. There is a need to set up a quality management system within the existing structures for the distribution, prescription and dispensing of antibiotics in both public and private institutions. The system should clearly define the processes and provide adequate resources to ensure appropriate monitoring and control of antibiotic distribution, prescription and dispensing