2018 Focus–Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a major global crisis, threatening patient care, economic growth, public health, agriculture, economic security, and national security. As the situation is growing at an alarming rate and is outpacing the development of new countermeasures capable of successfully preventing infections in humans, in 2011, the World Health Organization (WHO) set “Combat Antimicrobial Resistance: No Action Today, No Cure Tomorrow” as the main theme of that year's World Health Day. Additionally, over the recent years, the World Health Assembly (WHA) has also included antimicrobial resistance as a major topic on the meeting's agenda, and developed the “Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance” in 2015 to assist Member States to develop and implement national action plans that promote the adoption of “One Health” approach among international sectors and partners, while ensuring sustainable investment in tackling the issue and implementation of national antimicrobial stewardship programs. In the 2016 General Assembly of the United Nations, world leaders signaled an unprecedented level of attention to curb the spread of infections that are resistant to antimicrobial medicines. For the first time, Heads of State were committed to taking a broad, coordinated approach to address the root causes of AMR across multiple sectors, especially human health, animal health and agriculture. Countries reaffirmed their commitment to develop national action plans on AMR based on the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance.