Urging High-Level Meeting to Ensure Dedicated Funding, Deputy Secretary-General Says Lives Lost to Antimicrobial Resistance ‘Are Preventable Tragedies’
Following is UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s message on the occasion of the High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance, in New York today:
I welcome this opportunity to address the critical issue of antimicrobial resistance. I thank His Excellency Francois Jackman and Her Excellency Vanessa Frazier, for their unwavering efforts to shine the spotlight and bring Member States together around this important agenda.
Our deep appreciation goes to Her Excellency Prime Minister Mia Mottley, for her steadfast and personal leadership as chair of the Antimicrobial Resistance Global Leaders’ Group.
AMR [antimicrobial resistance] is a complex, and an existential danger. The World Health Organization has named AMR as one of the top 10 threats to global health and development. It has profound implications for the environment, for food security, animal health and human health.
Already, AMR is directly responsible for 1.3 million deaths a year. One in five are children. Without a step-change in action before 2030, antimicrobial resistance will reduce global life expectancy by almost two years.
These are not just numbers; they represent lives that are lost, families that are shattered and futures that are stolen. The worst is that they are preventable tragedies.
AMR is a major challenge to sustainable development. This is a crisis that costs the world an estimated $800 billion a year in health-care costs and productivity losses and that threatens to reverse decades of medical progress.
It is deeply intertwined with poverty, food and nutrition insecurity, environmental degradation, inadequate water and sanitation and a lack of access to essential health services and medicines. Vulnerable populations worldwide, particularly in the Global South, shoulder the heaviest burden of the AMR crisis.
Addressing antimicrobial resistance is a health, socioeconomic and environmental necessity. It is equally a moral imperative. We must take a One Health response and tackle this crisis as a whole. And move to the sustainable use and production of antimicrobials, preserving these extraordinary medicines for generations to come.
The Political Declaration from the first High-level Meeting on AMR in 2016 was a crucial step, which generated significant momentum. Since then, over 90 per cent of countries now have multisectoral national plans to combat AMR. The path forward is clear.
But, countries face obstacles in implementation. Chief among them is finance. The vast majority lack dedicated funding to address gaps and make corrective actions where needed. And this must change. The institutions and capacities must be primed to deliver an effective cross-sector and multi-level response, from grass root and community to national, regional and global levels.
It also will be vital to engage partners across the board from the private sector and civil society, to farmer’s associations and consumers, to patients and practitioners, given the multidimensional nature of the crisis.
Let me also underscore the importance of the research community that must be a partner of first choice. For without science, we will surely lose the battle. This is essential.
The Political Declaration today paves the way for a robust response to AMR. I am calling on Member States to be bold in implementing it. With actions that are inclusive, equitable and coordinated. Actions that target sustainable and diversified financing of the AMR response.
And actions that support health systems that address the needs of all populations for safe and nutritious food, fresh air and clean water, particularly in the Global South.
As we stand in solidarity today, let us elevate the political significance of the AMR challenge, reignite the urgency, work together to deliver its benefits for people and for our planet. Thank you.