Follow Us on Google
-
Demands urgent action
-
To hold World AMR Week 18 to 24 November
_________________________________________________________________________
By Doris Obinna
More than 4.7 million deaths were associated with bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) globally in 2021, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned, calling for urgent action to prevent drug-resistant infections from becoming an even deadlier public health threat.
The warning comes as the world prepares to mark the 2026 World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW) from 18 to 24 November, amid concerns that inadequate funding, weak surveillance and poor implementation of national action plans are undermining efforts to contain the growing crisis.
WHO warned that antimicrobial resistance, which occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to medicines, threatens the effective treatment of infections, putting millions of lives at risk.
Speaking at the sixth Annual Global Media Forum on AMR ahead of the awareness week, the Director of the WHO Department of Antimicrobial Resistance, Dr Jean-Pierre Nyemazi, described AMR as one of the most urgent global health threats and development challenges.
Under this year’s theme, “One Health, One Action: Prevent AMR Now,” Nyemazi said the consequences of resistance extended beyond human health to animal and plant health, food production and the environment.
“These are not just statistics. Behind these numbers are patients, families, farmers and communities,” he said.
He identified the misuse and overuse of antimicrobial medicines, poor infection prevention, inadequate water and sanitation, and environmental contamination as major drivers of resistance.
Nyemazi, however, lamented that the gap between global commitments and actual implementation remained wide, citing inadequate financing, fragmented coordination and weak surveillance.
At the 2024 United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR, world leaders pledged to reduce deaths associated with bacterial AMR by 10 per cent by 2030, against the 2019 baseline of 4.95 million. They also committed to ensuring that at least 60 per cent of countries had funded national AMR action plans by 2030.
The declaration further called for at least $100 million in catalytic funding to support the global response.
Nyemazi said the commitments must translate into tangible results in communities, warning that political declarations alone would not reverse the growing threat.
Similarly, the WHO Senior Technical Officer and Lead of Multisectoral Coordination in its AMR Department, Dr Kefas Samson, identified inadequate financing, weak surveillance, poor infection prevention in healthcare facilities, limited diagnostic capacity and shortages of health workers as major barriers to tackling AMR.
Other News
He said unequal access to quality-assured antimicrobial medicines also remained a concern, urging countries to strengthen primary healthcare, laboratory capacity, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
Samson described the updated Global Action Plan on AMR for 2026–2036 as a renewed framework for translating global commitments into measurable country-level interventions.
The plan is expected to be launched at the Fifth Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on AMR in Abuja, Nigeria, from 6 to 8 December.
Beyond human health, experts warned that growing antibiotic use in livestock production and environmental pollution could further accelerate the spread of drug resistance.
The Deputy Chief Veterinarian of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Dr Junxia Song, disclosed that global antibiotic use in livestock could increase by nearly 30 per cent by 2040 without urgent preventive measures.
She, however, said improved animal health services and farm management practices could reduce antibiotic use by as much as 57 per cent.
On the environmental dimension, the AMR Coordinator at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Aitziber Echeverria, warned that the global response would remain incomplete unless countries tackled pollution and the release of antimicrobial residues and resistant microorganisms into the environment.
Also speaking, the Programme Officer at the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), Dr Jane Lwoyero, said every dollar invested in preventing animal diseases and strengthening animal health systems could yield a return of $28.
She warned that inadequate vaccination, weak veterinary services and poor farm biosecurity were increasing the risk of infections and driving antimicrobial use.
According to her, fewer than 20 per cent of WOAH member countries vaccinate animals against notifiable diseases, while animal diseases cause estimated annual global losses of up to $300 billion.
The Chairperson of the Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA) and host of the forum, Shobha Shukla, warned that even seemingly minor injuries, including cuts and needle pricks, could expose people to drug-resistant infections that might become difficult or impossible to treat.
She called for stronger prevention, responsible use of medicines and sustained investment in surveillance and laboratory systems, stressing that efforts to curb resistance must not deprive patients who genuinely need antimicrobial medicines of access to them.
Shukla said the challenge was no longer merely getting countries to recognise AMR or develop national action plans, but ensuring that they had the resources and accountability mechanisms to implement them.
