Assistant Professor Dr. Ali Azeez Ali, a faculty member in the Clinical Pharmacy Department, participated as one of the session moderators for the “Antibiotic Bacterial Resistance” session at the Public Health Conference, following an official invitation from the Director General of the Public Health Directorate at the Ministry of Health on October 29, 2025.
The Conference was attended by the Minister of Health, the Director General of the Public Health Directorate, along with a group of physicians and pharmacists from various provinces of Iraq.
The antibiotics session included six scientific lectures delivered by specialists from the Ministry of Health. The presentations revealed extremely high rates of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, considered among the highest in the region, and potentially worldwide according to the latest report from the National Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program of the Public Health Directorate.
The session concluded by emphasizing the necessity of regulating the dispensing of antibiotics, especially in the private sector, after the loss of effectiveness of many antibiotics, such as third-generation cephalosporins, due to random use and dispensing without prescription in recent years.
At the end of the conference, participants stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation between the Ministry of Health and academic institutions to raise awareness about the rational use of antibiotics. They also affirmed the need for collective efforts from all healthcare workers to curb the uncontrolled dispensing of antibiotics, helping to confront the antimicrobial resistance crisis that threatens the country’s health system.
