Filenews 21 November 2020
The global phenomenon of antimicrobial resistance, just as dangerous as the pandemic, threatens to overturn a century of medical progress, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned today.
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites resist the effects of drugs, among them antibiotics, making common infections more difficult to treat and increasing the risk of spread of diseases, serious forms of infections and deaths.
On the occasion of World Week for the Proper Use of Antimicrobials (18-24 November), the WHO, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE), today set up a high-level group "responsible for combating the crisis that is accelerating drug resistance".
Its two co-chairs are Bangladesh's prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, and her Barbados counterpart, Mia Motley.
This group will bring together heads of state, ministers and managers of companies and civil society organisations.
"Antimicrobial resistance may not seem as urgent as a pandemic, but it is just as dangerous," WHO chief Tedros Antanum Gebreyesus told a news conference.
Antimicrobial resistance is "one of the greatest health challenges of our time," which "threatens to destroy a century of medical progress and leave us defenceless in the face of infections that today can be easily cured," he warned.
700,000 dead a year
Nearly 700,000 people die each year because of this antimicrobial resistance and "without strong action to ensure the proper use of existing antibiotics, as well as new and better treatments, this number could rise to ten million by 2050," according to the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry (IFPMA).
"Antimicrobial resistance is an impending global crisis that could overshadow the Covid-19 in terms of deaths and economic costs," IFMPA chief executive Thomas Cooney warned, welcoming the formation of the working group.
Antimicrobials are key weapons for fighting diseases in humans, animals and plants. They include antibiotics, antitics, antifungals and antiparasitics.
Many factors -- including excessive use of medicines in humans, animals and agriculture, as well as lack of access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene-- have reinforced the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance worldwide, the WHO estimates.
"Although antibiotics are a key element, antimicrobial resistance also includes drug resistance against HIV, malaria, neglected tropical diseases and others," Tedros said.
It also regretted that while almost 90% of countries have national action plans to tackle antimicrobial resistance, only 20% have found resources to implement them.
To address this antimicrobial resistance, the WHO has in recent years called for the development of new antibiotics, but this process is complicated and costly.
Source: RES-BE
