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23 June 2022
Commonwealth leaders have met to discuss anti-microbial resistance (AMR), which poses a serious threat to human, animal, plant and environmental health, as well as food safety and food security.
The event, which was convened by the Global Leaders Group (GLG) on Anti-Microbial Resistance, took place on the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali. It was moderated by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health of Malta, Christopher Fearne MP, who engaged in a lively panel discussion of leaders on the political actions needed to address the global AMR crisis.
The leaders noted that anti-microbial resistance is spreading rapidly worldwide and has been considered the next pandemic. A recent Lancet publication has revealed that anti-microbial resistant infections have caused 1.27 million deaths and were associated with 4.95 million deaths in 2019. For context, this figure is greater than the number of people who died from HIV/AIDS and malaria that year combined.
Economic impacts
Part of their discussions centred around the consequences of inaction on AMR, and the acknowledgement that AMR is not just a health issue, but also an economic one. With recent research suggesting that at least 5 million reported deaths were associated with AMR globally in 2019, most of which were in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), leaders noted the need for further action to address this issue. ...
Commonwealth leaders have met to discuss anti-microbial resistance (AMR), which poses a serious threat to human, animal, plant and environmental health, as well as food safety and food security.
The event, which was convened by the Global Leaders Group (GLG) on Anti-Microbial Resistance, took place on the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali. It was moderated by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health of Malta, Christopher Fearne MP, who engaged in a lively panel discussion of leaders on the political actions needed to address the global AMR crisis.
The leaders noted that anti-microbial resistance is spreading rapidly worldwide and has been considered the next pandemic. A recent Lancet publication has revealed that anti-microbial resistant infections have caused 1.27 million deaths and were associated with 4.95 million deaths in 2019. For context, this figure is greater than the number of people who died from HIV/AIDS and malaria that year combined.
Economic impacts
Part of their discussions centred around the consequences of inaction on AMR, and the acknowledgement that AMR is not just a health issue, but also an economic one. With recent research suggesting that at least 5 million reported deaths were associated with AMR globally in 2019, most of which were in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), leaders noted the need for further action to address this issue. ...
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