On 15th March TheNetwork for Consumer Protection will be marking World Consumer Rights Day by joining a global campaign to get Antibiotics Off The Menu at McDonald's, KFC and Subway. Consumer organisations from around the world, in partnership with Consumers International, are calling on the companies to make a global commitment to stop serving meat from animals raised with the routine use of antibiotics important to human medicine.
TheNetwork for Consumer Protection has joined the campaign by writing letters to local representatives of international food chains- McDonald's, Subway and KFC and attracting the attention of policy makers and food authorities to the issue. Nadeem Iqbal Executive Co-ordinator TheNetwork in his letters to local representatives of these international food chains demanded a time-bound action plan to phase out the routine use of antibiotics used in human medicine across all meat and poultry supply chains and also to adopt third-party auditing of their antibiotics use policies and bench their results to show progress in meeting their goals.
In addition civil society activists and general public particularly parents have been contacted in continuation with the international thunder clap campaign by posting their pictures in front of any of these international food outlets holding posters with the slogan antibiotics of the menu on their own social media pages. The photo must be taken in front of the particular Subway, McDonald or KFC food chain clearly displaying its logo.
The overuse of antibiotics in agriculture is a major driver of antibiotic resistance, which is rising to dangerously high levels in all parts of the world. The World Health Organisation has warned that, without urgent action, we are heading for a post-antibiotic era, in which important medicines stop working and common infections and minor injuries can once again kill.
Tackling antibiotic resistance is a high priority for WHO. A global action plan on antimicrobial resistance, including antibiotic resistance, was endorsed at the World Health Assembly in May 2015. The global action plan aims to ensure that the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases with safe and effective medicines continues.
The global action plan has 5 strategic objectives; improve awareness and understanding of antimicrobial resistance, strengthen surveillance and research, reduce the incidence of infection and optimize the use of antimicrobial medicines and ensure sustainable investment in countering antimicrobial resistance. WHO is supporting Member States to develop their own national action plans to address antimicrobial resistance, in line with the objectives of the global plan.-PR
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