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The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has taken an unprecedented step by advising the health departments across the country to make sure that antibiotic medicines are sold only on prescription by registered medical practitioner.

The directive has been issued to the health departments of all four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT),

The DRAP officials on Friday said the advisory had been issued to fight the increasing threat of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) as well as control the perilous practice of self-medication. 

They said self-medication could lead to misuse and overuse of antibiotics, aggravating resistance and weakening the efficacy of important drugs.

A local pharmaceutical industry data has revealed that the sales of antibiotics a year in Pakistan are massive, as antibiotics worth around Rs135 billion were consumed in 2022.

A significant concern is the irrational use of these antibiotics, with over 70% to 80 % prescribed and consumed unnecessarily for self-limiting conditions, leading to a serious threat of AMR. This misuse makes antibiotics ineffective against disease-causing microorganisms, posing a major public health risk.

“Antimicrobial resistance has been declared a global threat by the World Health Organisation (WHO) since 2014, and the misuse and overuse of antibiotics is one of the main causes of AMR. It has been observed that the sale of antibiotics without a prescription in LMICs, including Pakistan, has led to misuse, overuse and abuse through self-medication,” DRAP Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Asim Rauf told .

The DRAP chief maintained that as antibiotics and antibacterials were sold on prescription only all around the world, Pakistan too had no choice but to restrict their sale to prevent self-medication. 

He added that they had advised all provincial health departments, governments of Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Islamabad administration to ensure that these medications were sold on the prescription of registered medical practitioners only.

In response to concerns about unethical and incentivised prescriptions, he said they were going to approach the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and healthcare commissions across Pakistan to take action against healthcare professionals who were prescribing antibiotics irrationally or in exchange for incentives. 

“We are also going to hold the pharmaceutical industry responsible, and stern action will be taken against those offering incentives for prescribing antibiotics irrationally,” Asim vowed.

An advisory issued by DRAP’s Director of Pharmacy Services, Dr Obaidullah, emphasised that DRAP shared the responsibility of combating AMR, being the ‘National Focal Point’ for Antimicrobial Consumption Surveillance (AMCS).