Giving Compass' Take:

• 93% of countries are developing or have developed a national action plan on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), but only a fraction have implemented one. This article from UN Foundation details a Call to Action to address the problem.

• Preventing superbugs is essential not just to global health, but to national security as well. How can the nonprofit world mobilize urgent efforts to develop resiliency?

• Here are details about a new way to stop antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

On November 19-20, in Accra, Ghana, the United Nations Foundation, in partnership with the Wellcome Trust, the governments of Ghana, Thailand, and the United Kingdom, and the Inter-Agency Coordination Group (IACG) on Antimicrobial Resistance will bring together government ministers, scientists, industry representatives, and civil society leaders for the second international Call to Action on antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Building on the inaugural Call to Action in 2017 held in Berlin, Germany, this two-day meeting will showcase the pioneering actions that individuals, organizations, and national governments are taking to tackle drug-resistant infections, and how these actions can be translated into sustainable impact at the international, regional, and multilateral levels.

With all the other global health issues going on right now, why are so many governments and organizations coming together to focus on AMR?

Globally, approximately 700,000 people die every year from drug-resistant infections. If we do not act, estimates show this toll could rise to 10 million deaths per year — surpassing the total annual global deaths due to cancer. In some countries, it’s estimated that up to 82% of infections are resistant to at least one of the most commonly used antibiotics. And by 2050, AMR is estimated to have a cumulative cost to the world economy of $100 trillion.

Read the full article about a call to action to stop superbugs by Lori Sloate at United Nations Foundation.