**PLEASE NOTE--THIS EVENT WAS CANCELLED**
Featuring
Alexander Dodoo
Director & Senior Research Fellow, Center for Tropical Clinical Pharmacology, University of Ghana Medical School
and
Martha Gyansa-Lutterodt
Program Manager, Ghana National Drugs Programme, Ministry of Health
Moderated by
Rachel Nugent
Senior Health Program Associate, Center for Global Development
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
2:00p.m.—4:00p.m.
at
Center for Global Development
1800 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Third Floor, Washington, DC
The problem of drug resistance is gaining increasing importance globally as greater numbers of patients in developing countries get access to needed drug therapy, delivery systems face increasing pressures and new drug pipelines can't keep up with demand. Resistance has emerged in response to treatment for AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other microbial infections. Health system weaknesses contributing to the problem include: stock-outs of drugs and diagnostics; lack of timely and continuous care; insufficient human resources for health; non-existent surveillance systems; substandard products; and more. These long-standing problems have become more acute with new infectious disease burdens and treatment initiatives.
Martha Gyansa-Lutterodt's presentation will focus on Ghana's national rational use of drugs programme and the positive and negative impacts of donor interventions on improving rational use of drugs, especially antimicrobials. Alexander Dodoo will then discuss the specific case of malaria where safety concerns on an ACT did lead to poor adherence and its potential impact on resistance development at the country level. Their perspectives will inform the recommendations of CGD's new Drug Resistance Working Group, which seeks to address this important global challenge.
