UN meeting on antimicrobial resistance could spur much-needed global action

The United Nations General Assembly could turn the tide on antimicrobial resistance. The keys to making this happen are ensuring policymakers have the best available evidence and rallying political support through unifying goals.

Later this month, world leaders, civil society and global health researchers like me will convene at the UN General Assembly for arguably the most important meeting on antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, this decade. On September 26, a special high-level meeting on AMR will set the global agenda to mobilise action on this growing health and development challenge.

The stakes are high. AMR is a complex global challenge that – like climate change – no one country can deal with alone. AMR occurs when the bacteria and other microbes that cause infections like pneumonia, sepsis or tuberculosis gain the ability to resist treatment by antibiotics or other antimicrobial medicines. These drug-resistant microbes are sometimes called “superbugs”.

This natural process has been accelerated by inappropriate use of antimicrobials and now contributes to about five million deaths annually, increasingly threatening animal health, food security and national economies.

Triple burden

As with climate change, low- and middle- income countries are in an especially precarious position, facing a triple burden of lack of access to quality-assured antimicrobials, a higher burden of AMR and fewer resources to effectively respond to this emerging...

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