Ethiopia Celebrated World Health Day
Combat Drug Resistance: “No action today, No cure tomorrow”
Addis Ababa, April 7, 2011 ‐- Left unchecked, the uncontrolled rise in resistant germs threatens lives and wastes limited resources. Urgent and coordinated action is required at all levels to ensure the preservation of these life‐saving drugs for future generations, said WHO Country Representative, Dr. Fatoumata Nafo – Traoré, in the keynote message she delivered on the day on behalf of Dr. Luis Gomes Sambo, Regional director for the WHO African Region.
This year’s World Health Day has been celebrated under the theme: “Combat Drug Resistance: “No action today, No cure tomorrow.” It emphasizes the critical role that drug resistance monitoring plays in the successful treatment and outcome of the various infectious diseases.
In Ethiopia, the event was marked with a high level half ‐ day advocacy panel discussion that brought together participants from government institutions, the private sector, traditional medicine practitioners, teaching and research institutions as well as the media. The event was jointly organized, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) in collaboration with WHO‐Ethiopia, as well as partners: MSH, and USAID.