Lankans blessed to have free health – WHO Rep

Sri Lankans should be thankful to Mother Nature for the free health service and free education since most countries in the world do not have these facilities, said WHO Representative in Sri Lanka Dr. F. R. Mehta.

Addressing the World Health Day celebration held at the Health Education Bureau yesterday, Dr. Mehta said that Sri Lanka annually spends US$ 85 million for procuring drugs and equipment and 23 per cent of this budget is spent on antibiotics and anti infectious drugs. This is almost one fourth of the total budget. One hundred and thirty two items on the list are related to antibiotics and similar things.

Antibiotic resistance has already become a burning issue in Sri Lanka and other countries. In Sri Lanka people can buy antibiotics over the counter without a prescription but this practice is not followed abroad. Antibiotic resistance was discovered for the first time in the world in 1948, he said.

“It is a collective responsibility of all to tackle this problem. It is not something that should be done by the Health Minister, doctors or health professionals. It is up to the entire public. Using antibiotics rationally is the key solution for this problem. Preventing communicable diseases and improving immunity is also important to do this,” he added.