Amid the escalating impact of antimicrobial resistance, the Global Leaders Group calls on UN Member States to take bold and specific action
Geneva, April 4, 2024 – Results from an economic study confirm that the already staggering human toll of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) will be compounded by a catastrophic hit to the global economy unless bolder and more urgent action is taken, the Global Leaders Group (GLG) on AMR said today. AMR is already a leading cause of death globally, directly responsible for 1.27 million deaths annually, one in five of which occur in children under the age of five, mainly in low- and middle-income countries.
Uncontrolled AMR is expected to lower life expectancy and lead to unprecedented health expenditure and economic losses
The economic study shows that without a stronger response there would be an average loss of 1.8 years of life expectancy globally by 2035. The study also estimates that AMR would cost the world US$ 412 billion a year in additional healthcare costs and US$ 443 billion per year in lost workforce productivity.
The GLG calls on political leaders to make specific commitments at the high-level meeting on AMR to be held at the United Nations General Assembly on 26 September. The GLG report, “Towards specific commitments and action in the response to antimicrobial resistance” urges UN Member States to ensure that adequate, predictable, and sustainable financing is available from domestic and external sources to address AMR, including to tackle the dwindling research and development pipeline for new antibiotics. The GLG proposes that existing financing instruments expand their scope to include AMR and increase investments to support implementation of multisectoral National Action Plans, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
Global targets are needed to drive further action on AMR
To drive global and national action on AMR, the GLG report proposes several outcome-oriented targets to accelerate progress:
- By 2030, reduce global human deaths due to AMR by 10%.
- By 2030, ACCESS[1] group antibiotics comprise at least 80% of overall human antibiotic consumption.
- By 2030, reduce the quantity of antimicrobials used in the agri-food system globally by at least 30-50% from the current level;
- By 2030, eliminate the use of medically important antimicrobials for human medicine in animals for non-veterinary medical purposes, or in crop production and agri-food systems for non-phytosanitary purposes.