Adam Hartley | Jeddah
The world is grappling with a crisis that could undo decades of medical progress, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned on Friday. Addressing global leaders at the Fourth Global High-Level Ministerial Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Jeddah, Dr. Tedros issued a stark reminder: antimicrobial resistance is not a distant threat—it’s a crisis happening today.
“Every year, 1.3 million people lose their lives because of superbug infections. These aren’t just projections. People are dying now,” Dr. Tedros said, emphasising the urgency of combating AMR alongside other global priorities like climate action.
The Jeddah summit follows the recent COP29 climate conference in Baku, where Dr. Tedros drew parallels between the escalating threats of AMR and climate change. “Action on AMR is as urgent as action on climate change,” he said, calling for immediate, coordinated global efforts to prevent further loss of life.
The WHO chief outlined three critical priorities for implementing the AMR Political Declaration adopted at the UN General Assembly in September:
Sustainable Financing: Mobilising resources from domestic and international sources to combat AMR, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Innovation and Research: Addressing the “dry antimicrobial pipeline” by incentivising the development of new antibiotics and treatments.
Equitable Access: Ensuring that life-saving antimicrobials are available to those in need while curbing their inappropriate use.
“The irony of AMR is glaring,” Dr. Tedros said. “It is driven by the misuse of antimicrobials, yet many die because they lack access to these very medicines.”
AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites evolve to resist antimicrobial treatments, rendering many medicines ineffective. As a result, diseases that were once treatable with routine antibiotics are becoming harder—or impossible—to manage, giving rise to superbugs.
This resistance heightens the risk of severe illness, disability, and death. It also threatens to complicate routine medical procedures, from surgeries to cancer treatments, which depend on effective antibiotics to prevent and treat infections.
Despite the gravity of the situation, Dr. Tedros remains optimistic. “AMR is right here and right now, but so are the solutions,” he said, urging stakeholders at the Jeddah summit to accelerate action.
He stressed the need for stronger collaboration between governments, pharmaceutical companies, and global health organisations to preserve the effectiveness of existing medicines while developing new treatments.
The AMR crisis, as Dr. Tedros noted, is not just a public health challenge—it’s a socio-economic and ethical one. Without immediate and sustained action, the gains of modern medicine risk being undone.
“Let this conference be the turning point,” Dr. Tedros said in closing. “Let us commit to protecting the medicines that protect us.”
As the world unites to tackle AMR, the message from Jeddah is clear: this is a battle that requires global solidarity, innovative solutions, and relentless commitment. Lives depend on it.
