Unequal budgeting and limited WHO AWaRe Access antibiotics in Punjab: procurement policy gaps in Pakistan’s National Action Plan against antimicrobial resistance
SML is misaligned with the core concept of the WHO AWaRe system and the recent UNGA target of 70% Access category antibiotic consumption. The study elucidates that PSHFs lack sufficient funds to procure SML-advised quantities, highlighting its incompatibility with the budgetary grant, which affects consistent access to antibiotics. There is a need to recalibrate the procurement policy and leverage Pakistan's NAP to propagate a national antibiotic procurement framework to restrain AMR.
Authors
- Mishal Bajwa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9601-2692)
- Rana Muhammad Zahid Mushtaq (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8277-0177)
- Mian Shahzeb Haroon
- Zikria Saleem (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3202-6347)
- Shairyar Afzal
- Huda Arooj
Institutions
- Quaid-i-Azam University (PK)
- Bahauddin Zakariya University (PK)
- Girls Incorporated (US)
- Qassim University (SA)
- Buraydah Colleges (SA)
- MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine (GB)
- University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (PK)
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
- University of Gujrat (PK)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Archives of Public Health
- Published
- 2025-10-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-025-01720-2
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Antibiotic Use and Resistance
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.26
Funders
- Kunming Medical University
- Qassim University