Now, the global COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the immediacy for leaders worldwide to collectively take corrective measures to address the resistance of antimicrobial treatments and furthermore, tackle significant deficiencies in our society — poverty, healthcare accessibility, climate change, and economic disparity.
The escalating prevalence of drug-resistant pathogens is linked to several factors, including the misapplication and excessive use of antimicrobials, inadequate infection and disease prevention, and insufficient access to quality, affordable diagnostics and medications.
Globally, an estimated 700,000 individuals perish annually from drug-resistant infections. Projections indicate that failure to intervene could escalate the toll to 10 million deaths annually — surpassing the count of cancer-related deaths.
These are losses the global community simply cannot endure. Hence, decisive and immediate action is imperative across various industries and sectors worldwide to mitigate, forestall, and manage AMR through responsible employment of antimicrobials and control of drug-resistant infections.
Growing evidence of the hazards posed by AMR prompted three major UN agencies — the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) — to jointly endorse a collaborative and multi-industry strategy, known as One Health. To advance this innovative coordination, the UN recently inaugurated the One Health Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance to advocate for the urgent collective measures required to combat this global health menace.
The group is jointly chaired by the prime ministers of Bangladesh and Barbados and comprises a diverse array of health and environmental ministers from across the globe, private sector executives from Merck and Mars Inc., representatives from academia, and leaders of civil society organizations such as Wellcome Trust.
“Antimicrobial resistance stands as one of the most formidable health challenges of our era, and we cannot afford to pass it on to future generations to resolve,” remarked WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during the announcement of the Global Leaders Group. “Now is the time to forge new, cross-sector alliances that will safeguard the medications we currently possess and reinvigorate the pipeline for new ones.”
Apart from the potential loss of lives, if no action is taken, WHO forecasts that the economic toll due to AMR by 2050 could amount to $100 trillion. Economic productivity could decline globally by 1% to 3% by 2030 owing to a significant reduction in the workforce due to AMR.
Moreover, disparities across the globe would only exacerbate. According to the World Bank, by 2030, 24 million people in lower- and middle-income nations would plunge into poverty if the spread of superbugs remains unchecked.
If left unaddressed, we will not only falter in achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 on health and well-being for all, but the attainment of other SDGs will also become significantly more arduous and costly. This is why the UN, the UN Foundation, and collaborators spanning the philanthropic, nongovernmental organization, and corporate sectors are pooling efforts to combat AMR through collaborative and innovative means. Given the magnitude of the challenge, a global, multifaceted solution is imperative for success. As we strive to rebuild stronger post-pandemic, it is crucial to invest and collectively fortify our systems to preemptively tackle the next global health threat before it escalates.
“It's a challenging endeavor,” acknowledged Waygood, “but it's a battle that we must engage in because lives are on the line.”
