Antibiotic Disposal Box

Antibiotic disposal box is a simple and cost effective solution to decrease antibiotic pollution in the environment and to reduce AMR burden 

Dr Ruby Raphael, clinical pharmacologist 

The misuse and overuse antibiotics can substantially increase the level of antibiotics in the environment. Fazaludeen Koya S et al reported that at the national level, total private-sector antibiotic consumption increased by 12.0% between 2011 and 2016, from 4749 to 5358 million DDDs, and then decreased to 5071 million in 2019, registering a net increase of 6.8% between 2011 and 2019 and a CAGR of 0.63%. All these accelerates the evolution of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria and Antibiotic Resistance Genes resulting in multidrug resistant organisms and antimicrobial resistance. Antibiotic pollution is poorly regulated on a local and global scale, antibiotic molecules are increasingly found in freshwater, and marine environments etc. therefore by adopting an appropriate antibiotic disposal practice, the amount of antibiotics in the environment can be reduced. 

Target audience is the public and healthcare professionals and we aim to 

• create awareness regarding misuse of antibiotics
• assess the quantity of unused antimicrobials among the public and health-care professionals and encourage
•  educate and encourage appropriate antibiotic disposal practices if they have leftover/excess antibiotics

 Thereby decreasing antibiotic pollution and AMR burden in the environment.

 Public can be actively engaged by placing these Antibiotic disposal boxes  along with LED display at public places and in communities. LED display will run an awareness video  in local languages describing the appropriate  use of antibiotics , right disposal practices and threats of AMR.

Appropriate disposal of antibitoics can ensure antibiotic pollution free environment . this will inturn decrease the resistant genes in the environment and less chance of antibiotics to develop resistance in humans.

this is a practical solution which has not been explored in India and other LMICs. It is an simple cost-effective way to address Antimicrobial Resistance  problem which rising in an alarming trend globally.

This will be initiated in a phased manner :

1. govt institiutions and private hospitals

2. public places : metro stations, railway stations , shopping malls etc

3. gated communities , PHCs etc

Impact can be monitored by assessing the quantity of the drugs collected 

and knowledge or awareness can be assessed using surveys

 financial challenges , manpower and approvals from the government to implement this.

With the help of your mentoring and support this solution can save lives , antibiotics  and environment.

With this challenge, this simple solution can reach out to many others

GARDP 

The Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP) accelerates the development and access of treatments for drug-resistant bacterial infections. Together with public, private and non-profit partners, GARDP works to preserve the power of antibiotics for generations to come.

ReACT - The ReAct Asia-Pacific (RAP) node works on multiple projects and initiatives related to AMR