Before the COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the world, a silent pandemic had already taken root, prolonging hospital stays, making routine surgeries more hazardous, and causing more than 700,000 deaths per year. If inaction to address antimicrobial resistance continues, it could cause up to 10 million deaths annually by 2050. It’s time to tackle it with urgency.

THE TOLL OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) medicines are some of the most powerful tools we have against bacterial and fungal infections, viruses, and parasites. A marvel of modern medicine since penicillin was invented almost a century ago, antimicrobials save millions of lives per year. However, improper use of these medicines can create fertile ground for mutations in diseases, which can build resistance against these vital treatments. During the COVID-19 pandemic, misuse of antimicrobial drugs has surged; 90% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the Americas were given antimicrobials, even though only 7% warranted their use to treat secondary infections. If we lose access to everyday antimicrobials, caesarean sections, hip replacements, cancer chemotherapy, organ transplantation, and other regular medical procedures will become riskier and lead to higher rates of mortality because of commonplace infections.

Furthermore, if no action is taken to contain AMR, the economic cost in terms of lost global production between now and 2050 is estimated to reach $100 trillion. There is no question that low- and middle-income countries would continue to be more negatively affected by AMR in coming years, fueling the widening gap of global health and economic inequity. In an analysis done by the World Bank before the pandemic, an additional 28.3 million people would be at risk of falling into extreme poverty in 2050 due to AMR, the vast majority (26.2 million) of whom would live in low-income countries. The role the pandemic has played in increasing global poverty and reducing economic growth in the coming years only complicates the picture further.

Read the full article about antimicrobial resistance by Kate Dodson at United Nations Foundation.