Members of Parliament on the Parliamentary Forum on Antimicrobial Resistance have called on the Government to double their efforts in enforcing policies and laws that tackle drug dispensation to patients.
MPs who were attending a workshop on antimicrobial resistance held at Parliament on Friday, 21 March 2025, called for new efforts that ensure proper drug prescription, accurate interpretation, preparation, and labelling.
Hon. Dr. Nicholas Thadeus Kamara (FDC, Kabale Municipality) who chaired the meeting, said Parliament enacted good laws and policies to tackle drug dispensation but enforcement of the law remains problematic.
“I call for enforcement from Local Councils and National Drug Authority to make sure that prescription of drugs is a preserve of the prescribers and I call on all pharmacists and people in drug shops to only give drugs that have been prescribed by doctors,” Kamara said.
Dr. Kamara called on all parliamentarians and Ugandans to join in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, calling it a silent pandemic that claims the lives of over 37,800 Ugandans annually resulting from drug resistance to the bacteria.
Speaking at the workshop, Elly Nuwamanya, a health economist from Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) emphasised the need to continuously engage policymakers to review the current state of antimicrobial resistance and discuss strategies to prioritize its containment at both the policy & legislative levels.
“According to the study by our Centres for Antimicrobial Optimisation Network, Uganda loses an alarming cost of roughly Shs67 million each year due to antimicrobial resistance,” he said.
Nuwamanya further called for unified action from all stakeholders against antimicrobial resistance or else the economic burden worsens.
Dr. Francis Kakooza, the Head of Global Health Security Department at IDI, commended government for presenting a report highlighting the economic burden of antimicrobial resistance calling it a timely and reassuring step showing strong policy commitment aligned with global health security priorities.
Other stakeholders who attended the workshop included, Baylor Foundation Uganda, the ministries of health and water; Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development (HEPS- Uganda), National Health Laboratory and Diagnostic Services and National One Health Platform.
Parliamentary Forum on Antimicrobial Resistance is a parliamentary advocacy forum working with other sectors to ensure that legislators perform their core roles, and are also part of the fight against Antimicrobial Resistance.