After 4 collaborative meeting days: Actions for the future in Latin America

2019-11-21

From November 12 to 15, the second international meeting “Health in the Hands of the Community'”was held in Cuenca, Ecuador. The event focused on use of antibiotics in food production, the environmental impact and spread of bacterial resistance and the consequences it implies for human health.

Mixed group of participants

Researchers, academics, representatives from social organizations, gourmets, agro-ecological producers, professionals and medical students gathered for four days to learn more why proper use of antibiotics in agricultural production is so important. How this can help minimize the spread of drug-resistant bacteria and help avoid failure of the advances of modern medicine.

Meeting days resulted in two actions for the future

As part of the meeting days, two workshops were held, both resulting in actions to move the agenda forward.

The first workshop focused on the School Garden and the Educational Knapsack – this as a strategy to promote school health and the proper use of antibiotics.

Teachers, representatives of civil society organizations, and representatives of the Primary Health Care System and the Health Promotion Area of ​​Ecuador participated in this workshop. During this workshop several actions were agreed upon – all with the core concept to promote and include the Educational Saddlebag created by ReAct Latin America into learning and health promotion spaces.

The second workshop “Smart Communities in health care and the use of antibiotics” discussed the community’s role in health care and proper use of antibiotics – and – on what levels the community can address this. The workshop lead to a commitment to incorporate community participation into programs, plans and projects as a basis for decision-making and execution of actions in the field of health, understanding this in a broader sense.

Arturo Quizhpe Peralta, Head of ReAct Latin America concludes:

The moment we learn about the role that bacteria play in the preservation of human life and health – we can overcome the metaphor of war and avoid the abuse of antibiotics.