In conjunction with the World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week, the College of Pharmacy at University of Alkafeel held a scientific symposium : "Antibiotics Resistance: The Next Pandemic", on Tuesday, 11/19/2024, delivered by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Dakhil Al-Rikabi, Head of the Clinical Pharmacy Department.

    The symposium was attended by the Dean of the College of Pharmacy, Asst.Prof.Dr. Saad Mashkoor Walid, the Scientific Assistant and a group of faculty members and students. The Dean of the College pointed out the importance of organizing such symposia to highlight the need for optimal use of antibiotics, and to raise awareness about the danger of bacterial resistance to drugs.

     For his part, Professor Al-Rikabi stressed in his lecture that bacterial resistance to antibiotics is one of the major health challenges that may turn into the "next pandemic", calling for the need for concerted efforts between academics, health practitioners and society in general to reduce this phenomenon that threatens public health. Al-Rikabi added: “Combating antibiotic resistance requires multiple strategies that include improving disease diagnosis, educating patients and doctors about the correct use of drugs, and developing new research scopes to produce drugs capable of combating resistant bacteria.”

    This symposium falls within the remit of a series of educational events organized by the university to keep pace with the most prominent global health issues, which aim to raise awareness among students and the academic community about the importance of combating antibiotic resistance to preserve the health of individuals and communities.