The Question of Antibiotic Resistance

Committee: World Health Organization

Country: India  

Delegate: Lloyd Ross, King’s College London

Topic A: The Question of Antibiotic Resistance

Encompassing one-seventh of the global population but also 60% of the world’s people who have no toilet within their household, the issues of sanitation, hygiene and access to working healthcare is an integral and hugely relevant problem which needs to be addressed as India attempts to transition beyond its ‘developing nation’ status. With resistance to antibacterial drugs prompting effects like longer duration of illness, further treatment with more expensive drugs, and increased burdens on health systems, given the rampant poverty in India – in which 37% are deemed below the international poverty line – such options are not easily addressable alone and a coherent and structured global plan is needed.

India supports any attempts to curtail the resistance to antibiotics which has seen sharp increases over recent decades, especially given its reliance on cheap, over the counter medical care for a large population which cannot afford better. However, the issue is not contained to small, concentrated regions like the South-East Asia Region (SEAR), and India seeks a global commitment to tackle these issues wherever they lay on the map. Two outbreaks of methicillin-resistant Staph Aureus (MRSA) in Canadian hospitals, for example, have their origins in Northern India according to research conducted by the World Health Organisation itself, and if anything emphasises India’s position for international efforts to tackle this problem. Increasing resistance to typhoid-fever antibiotics in India has led to a mortality rate of 10% for those prescribed treatment in 2011, which unfortunately is only slightly lower than the pre-antibiotic era figure of 12.8%. India sees its part to play in addressing the issue which is predominant in its nation but requires global support and financial stimuli for it to be effective.

Therefore, India also pushes for greater monetary assistance to promote education on the issue of healthcare and illness, as well as financial aid to help support social programmes that India feels play a crucial role to exacerbating the issue. Addressing poor sanitation and infrastructure in nations where problems are most prevalent; education to discourage self-prescription and unnecessary antibiotic use; and investment in better drugs and health-services in developing nations where poor provisions worsens this problem are all necessary to solving this issue and is what India will be arguing for.

Committee: World Health Organization

Country: India  

Delegate: Lloyd Ross, King’s College London

Topic A: Mental health action plan (2013-2020): promoting care and treatment

With only 43 government-run mental hospitals serving a population of 1.2 billion, resources are spread thin for mental-health provision in India. Temples and shrines are often advised as the best course of treatment opposed to the small selection of specialist doctors and healthcare professionals, and according to research by the World Health Organisation, the primary source of care and mental disorders in India come through the household, and is also its main source of funds. With poverty in India particularly high in comparison to other nations, the affordability and the ability for families to pay for mental healthcare provision is minimal.