Reduce pollution to combat ‘superbugs’ and other anti-microbial resistance
“The environmental crisis of our time is also one of human rights and geopolitics – the antimicrobial resistance report published by UNEP today is yet another example of inequity, in that the AMR crisis is disproportionately affecting countries in the Global South.” – Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados
(United Nations News) Up to 10 million people could die annually by 2050 due to anti-microbial resistance (AMR), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a report launched in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Tuesday, highlighting the need to curtail pollution created by the pharmaceuticals, agricultural and healthcare sectors.
The study focuses on the environmental dimensions of AMR, which occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines.
It calls for strengthening action to reduce the emergence, transmission and spread of “superbugs” – strains of bacteria that have become resistant to every known biotic – and other instances of AMR, which are already taking a serious toll on human, animal, and plant health.
“The environmental crisis of our time is also one of human rights and geopolitics – the antimicrobial resistance report published by UNEP today is yet another example of inequity, in that the AMR crisis is disproportionately affecting countries in the Global South,” said Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, who chairs a UN-backed initiative of world leaders and experts examining the issue.
The @GLGAMR are identifying actions and recommendations leading up to the 2024 UNGA HLM on #AMR: an opportunity for global leaders to make bold and specific commitments, preserve antimicrobials and secure the future from drug-resistant pathogens. pic.twitter.com/CdBCBQObjB
— PAHO-WHO Caribbean (@PAHOCaribbean) February 8, 2023
AMR is among the top 10 global threats to health, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Read more at: United Nations News
Source: CARICOM TODAY