Antimicrobial resistance among top health threats, over 2 people die every minute: Experts

New Delhi, June 1 (IANS) Calling for accelerated action against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), global experts, including from India, at the 77th World Health Assembly (decision-making body of the WHO), have once again reiterated that AMR continues to be among the top-10 global health threats.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General, said that AMR is a growing and urgent crisis which is already a leading cause of untimely deaths globally.

He stressed that more than two people die of AMR every single minute.

“AMR threatens to unwind centuries of progress in human health, animal health, and other sectors,” he added.

Dr Kamini Walia, Convener and Co-Chairperson of the Scientific Committee of Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA), said that AMR inflicts significant mortality, morbidity and economic loss in low-and middle-income countries, including India.

“Several countries in Asia and Africa have observed a worrying trend of increasing drug resistance, while progress towards AMR containment efforts remains scattered and fragmented,” said Dr Walia, also a senior AMR scientist at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

She said that countries need to invest in strengthening healthcare systems, and prioritising prevention interventions, like infection control in hospitals and communities, and vaccinations.

Dr Ramanan Laxminarayan of One Health Trust, who is one of the authors of The Lancet series, said that AMR has set the stage for advancing the ‘One Health’ approach -- which is a recognition that our health is intrinsically intertwined with animal health, food and agriculture and our environment.

The United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting (UNHLM) on AMR will be held in September this year.