Conference on antibiotic resistance kicks off in Amman

The first Doctors without Borders (MSF) medical conference entitled ‘’Antibiotic Resistance in the Middle East’’ kicked off Sunday in Amman to discuss lessons learned in the prevention and treatment of multidrug-resistant infections.
The two-day conference brings together over 80 experts in infection control from all over the world, including participants from Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, UAE, Yemen, France, Switzerland, USA and India.
The first day sessions included issues on antibiotic resistance in the Middle East, overview of the problem; maintaining the effectiveness of current antibiotics; and reducing drug-resistant infections in hospitals.
The second day will be dedicated for meetings with Local health experts and other international participants as well as roundtable discussions. During its work in the region, MSF has encountered high concerns about antibiotic-resistant bacteria isolated from war wounds, in burn care and in the management of chronic osteomyelitis. MSF hopes that the conference proceedings will lead to potential solutions that could be adapted to the Middle Eastern context. The implementation of such solutions could be accelerated by new collaborations between government, academics and non-governmental organizations.
MSF has been working in the Kingdom since 2006 and faced a big challenge related to multidrug resistance and MDR bacteria in its surgical project in Amman. The project offers reconstructive surgical care for war wounded from the region in three surgical specialties: maxillo-facial, orthopedic and plastic surgery.
"Antibiotic-resistant infections represent a critical medical challenge in the Middle East that undermines patient outcomes and increases cost of care, "said Marc Schakal, MST head of mission for Jordan and Iraq. " The organization sees a great opportunity in holding such a conference in Jordan to open doors for scientific exchange and provoke constructive debate on the experiences and best practices of participants from different countries".
"Additional investments in operational research and implementation science are crucial to improve understanding of antibiotic resistance in the region and to guide the use of new discoveries for the public good, ’’ he added.
In his opening remark ,Secretary General of Jordan Ministry of Health, Daifallah Lozi, highlighted the importance of cooperation between all countries to fight the spread of antibiotic-resistant infection which can spread through many routes, including passengers and intra-regional trade of food ,animals or vegetables.
MSF is an independent international medical and humanitarian organization, which delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, healthcare exclusion and natural or man-made disasters all over the world. The organization offers assistance to people based only on need and irrespective of race, religion or political affiliation.
Today, MSF is a worldwide movement with 19 national offices and an international headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 and the King Hussein Foundation Humanitarian Leadership Prize in 2004.
In Amman, MSF has been running a Reconstructive Surgery Project for victims of violence in the region since August 2006. The project provides orthopedic, maxillofacial and plastic surgery, as well as physiotherapy and psychosocial support and has admitted over 3200 patients from the region. In Irbid MSF has been also providing mother and child healthcare since October 2013 to support Syrian refugees as well as underprivileged locals,while in Ramtha the organization opened an emergency trauma project for war wounded patients in Al Ramtha public hospital which admitted over 560 patients since it opened in 2013.
In March 2014, MSF opened also a post-operative care facility in Al Zaatari refugee camp serving war wounded patients transferred from Al Ramtha and other hospitals in Jordan.