On December 10th at 9 a.m., representatives from the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic will discuss the results of an initiative to promote rational use of antibiotics coordinated by the USAID-funded Quality Health Care Project (QHCP). The discussion will highlight significant improvements in physicians’ prescription of antibiotics for common illnesses.  The event will take place at the Park Hotel in Bishkek.

Overuse and misuse of antibiotics plays an important role in the emergence of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotic treatment at both the individual and population levels. Bacterial resistance, in turn, leads to increased mortality, longer hospital stays, and larger treatment costs.  Studies conducted in the Kyrgyz Republic in 2012 showed that 89% of patients with acute bronchitis and 31% of patients with the common cold were unnecessarily prescribed antibiotics.  In 2012, the Quality Health Care Project studied factors related to overuse and over-prescription of antibiotics and to promote more appropriate antibiotic use in three pilot regions.

Following training at the Kyrgyz State Medical Institute for Retraining and Continuing Education using curriculum developed with support from the Quality Health Care Project, unnecessary prescription of antibiotics in pilot regions declined dramatically for common conditions treated at the primary health care level and in hospitals. Quality Project also supported the development of ten evidence-based clinical protocols addressing common respiratory and urologic conditions. The protocols will help Kyrgyz healthcare workers make correct diagnoses and prescribe effective treatment while avoiding unnecessary antibiotic use.

The Quality Health Care Project is one of the many assistance projects supported by the American people through USAID.