2018-06-14
La Paz, Bolivia, located at 3800 meters above sea level, multiethnic and multicultural, was the venue for the International Workshop Seminar "Understanding Antimicrobials, Caring for the Health of Mother Earth, Healing Us", in mid May, held by ReAct Latin America. The five day long workshop resulted in definitions and strategies for onward action on antibiotic resistance.
The arena served to deepen knowledge about subjects such as:
- the importance of bacteria and their role in the environment and role for human beings
- the care of food and its diversity as a mechanism for the containment of antibiotic resistance
- health systems and health
- social participation
- smart communities regarding use of antibiotics
- resignification of health
- mechanisms for the containment of antibiotic resistance
all within the framework of the National Action Plans on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).
These five day long dialogues resulted in tools that will be useful when working with students, health professionals, organizations dedicated to agro-production and organizations dedicated to the care of the environment.
Among the results of the workshops are:
- Definition of indicators and characteristics that allow to identify smart communities in food production in order to promote practices for the production of food free of antibiotics and agro-toxins.
- Definition of an edu-communication program for health professionals, ecologists and agro-producers, that raise awareness about the scope of antimicrobial resistance and that the problem can be addressed from a comprehensive and multilateral perspective.
- Strategies to be applied in the communities within the framework of the National Action Plans on AMR.
Likewise, within the frame of the event, important meetings were held with delegates from different state entities such as the State Agency for Medicines and Health Technologies (AGEMED) of the Ministry of Health of Bolivia, the Ministry of Environment and the General Directorate of Biodiversity, with who reached agreements to work together in the implementation of the National Action Plans on AMR.