Pill after pill - The rising crisis of antimicrobial resistance in Cambodia

The article “When “Healing Medicine” Is Bad for Public Health”, published in VoaCambodia by Sokummono Khan and Nem Sopheakpanha, deals with the problem of rising antimicrobial resistance in Cambodia. According to the authors, it is quite common among the Cambodian population to treat illnesses, such as coughs or sore throats, with antibiotics despite this type of medication being unsuitable to cure them. Antibiotics, which are also referred to as ‘healing medicine’, can be bought at most pharmacies without a prescription by a doctor. They seem to be easily attainable and are often inattentively distributed among the population. According to the research and the interviews conducted by the journalists, most pharmacists are unsure about the laws and regulations concerning the vending of antibiotics. There seems to be a wide-spread ambiguity in the interpretation whether the laws on the selling of antibiotics are binding or not which leads to different extents of compliance with the government laws by pharmacies. Also, there seems to be a great lack in monitoring the dispensation and prosecuting the misuse of these kind of drugs in Cambodia. This has the effect that in a majority of cases, antibiotics are used for unnecessary reasons and are applied in an incorrect manner. In villages, the inhabitants often visit a local medic, called “pett phum”, who tend to lack medical expertise. 

Placing this in a wider context, it becomes clear that this is an alarming public health issues that is not only existent in Cambodia. The problem with the careless use of antibiotics is the development of antimicrobial resistances. Antimicrobial resistance evolves through the adaption of bacteria to the active components of the drug and is especially dangerous as some infectious diseases rely on the treatment with antibiotics. Thus an antimicrobial resistance could impose a serious threat to the sick person’s life. 

The article interested me because it points to the issues that Cambodia faces with regard to public health. It highlights problems that public health authorities face and portrays some individual attitudes towards the use of medicine. Following question could be worth investigating: 

How is the Cambodian health care system organized?
Where does the Cambodian population normally seek medical help?

What role do “pett phum” (local medics) play in the villages?

Where does the term ‘healing medicine’ come from?

What is the stance of Cambodians towards medical care and health care professionals? Are they skeptical towards new medicine and/or doctors? 

What role do international organization, such as the WHO, play in solving public health problems in Cambodia? To what extent can they be of help?  

Link: https://www.voacambodia.com/a/when-healing-medicine-is-bad-for-public-he…