Leonardo Da Vinci and John Muir both express well the growing threat of AMR worldwide. May 15, 2024, the General Assembly of the United Nations held their second meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance. AMR is a threat to human, animal, and plant sectors worldwide.

What is AMR? Humans have achieved numerous advances against pathogens which are microbes which cause disease. This has been due to improved public-health systems, and the use of antibiotics to combat bacterial pathogens. Antimicrobial drugs, which are used to fight pathogens, can cause the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Certain pathogens can develop a capacity to survive exposure to antimicrobials. Thus, the antimicrobial drug becomes ineffective in destroying the pathogens.

AMR has been declared one of the top ten global threats to human health. As stated by the United Nations, it contributes to 5 million deaths a year, 1 million of which are among children under the age of five. Overuse and misuse of antimicrobials in human medicine, livestock, fisheries, and crop production have caused the increase of AMR. Competition among pharmaceutical companies to keep prices of antibiotics low, has given rise to overuse of these antibiotics in both humans and livestock and other agricultural production. Added to this is the counterfeit and substandard medicines produced and exported by some countries. The World Health Organization has estimated that some 10 percent of all drugs produced worldwide may be counterfeits.

Given the importance and growing impact of AMR, we can hear the alarm and concern raised by the United Nations as well as other organizations worldwide. Governments, policy makers, intergovernmental organizations, academia, investors and companies need to come together to solve this world problem.