'Silent pandemic': Global leaders gather in Jeddah to tackle antimicrobial resistance crisis

By Gizem Nisa Cebi

ISTANBUL (AA) - Saudi Arabia is set convene the 4th Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Jeddah on Nov. 15-16, a serious issue that threatens global health, economies and food security.

Hosted by the Kingdom’s Health Ministry, the conference will gather ministers of health, agriculture, and environment from around the world, as well as key representatives from international organizations and civil society.

The conference's theme, From Declaration to Implementation – Accelerating Actions Through Multisectoral Partnerships for the Containment of AMR, seeks to advance the global response to AMR.

"The 4th AMR ministerial meeting provides an opportunity for the international community to commit to a strengthened common roadmap and a set of clear deliverables that will help counter the rise in drug resistance in humans and animals. … The Jeddah meeting is a crucial opportunity to strengthen our collective global response to the risks of this growing, ‘silent pandemic,'" said Saudi Health Minister Fahad bin Abdurrahman Al Jalajel.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized the immediate threat of AMR, warning: "Antimicrobial resistance is not a risk for the future, it’s here and now, making many antibiotics and other medicines on which we depend less effective, and making routine infections harder to treat, debilitating or deadly."

"We must act now, working together across a range of sectors – from health to environment to agriculture – to stop the spread of antimicrobial resistance and protect the medicines that protect us," he added.

Executive Director of the UN Environment Program Inger Andersen called for urgent action on environmental risks associated with AMR. "The environment plays a key role in the emergence, transmission and spread of AMR. … We call on all stakeholders to come together and scale up preventative actions to reduce effluents and waste from pharmaceutical production, agri-food, healthcare facilities, and municipal systems," she said.

The AMR, already responsible for over a million deaths annually and linked to another 5 million deaths each year, is projected to reduce global GDP by nearly 4% by 2050, potentially costing the world economy an estimated $100 trillion.

The conference will address these urgent issues, focusing on surveillance, funding, governance and the development of new technologies and practices to contain AMR.