Medication Abuse Awareness | PHDKC Programs

For severe illnesses, village patients generally attend a community healthcare centre or one of the 3 Hospitals in KC - & when their finances permitted, a private prescriber may be another option. Unfortunately, there’s been a growing trend to self-medicate, particularly antibiotics, through alternative non-official suppliers.

WAH’s community-based education program in partnership with PHD is designed to raise awareness of using appropriate health-seeking pathways, and the serious consequences of antibiotic misuse.

Medication misuse is widespread in resource-limited Kampong Chhnang where the burden of infectious diseases is high and access to antibiotics is unrestricted through an established prescriber-shop supplier ecosystem.

The main driver of the community demand is a mistaken belief in the benefits of antibiotics for a common cold, high temperature, pain, malaria and ‘Roleak’ which includes a broad catch-all for perceived inflammatory conditions.

WAH-PHD education program is aimed at challenging the pervasive misuse, driven by a habitual supplier-seeking behaviour, enabled by unrestricted access and basic misunderstandings about antibiotics for mild illnesses.