The toll of drug-resistant infections will increase by 70% by the year 2050
The need for more global investment and interactive engagement with low-income countries to tackle AMR in the next eight years: Global Fund recommendations for the prevention of disease, vaccine development and vaccine development
Walsh says we need more global investment and more interactive engagement with low-income countries to make sure that they are equipped. Strategies must ensure that hospitals in low-income countries have access to diagnostic tools, antibiotics, clean water and sanitation, he adds.
More than one million deaths are predicted by 2050 because of antimicrobial resistance, with an additional 8 million deaths caused by illnesses associated with resistance. People over 70 are most likely to be killed by AMR in the future.
This is the second time that AMR has been featured in a news story. The first one highlighted the importance of the problem which is linked to nearly five million deaths each year worldwide. The pace of change in the last eight years has been slow despite some progress, like the development of national action plans by many countries. I hope that attendees at the next meeting will remember the next eight years in a different way.
The Global Fund is required to step up. People with HIV have a high risk of developing bacterial, viral, fungal and protozoal infections. The Global Fund has a mandate to give people access to antibiotics and diagnostics and giving them more access would be a natural extension of that.
The Vaccine Alliance and the United States Agency for International Development both support the provision of vaccines, safe water, and good sanitation in developing countries. They also need to be prioritized in national budgets in low- and middle-income countries.
With investment from global funders, specific targets and accountability through an independent panel, there is a much higher chance of this year’s discussions at the General Assembly translating into global action to tackle AMR.
Eve Wool, a research manager at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, Washington, says she hopes the report can guide information on how to develop new drugs and which new vaccines to focus on.
Walsh says policymakers should address the use of antibiotics in farming which speeds up the development of antibiotic resistance, as well as invest in research for innovative antibiotic drugs.
Researchers state that the regions with the highest mortality rates are south Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The study showed that there was a problem in the health-systems quality and prevention of infections.
Gram-negativebacteria were responsible for a number of the deadliest infections of the past two decades. The pathogen that is in this category is Acinetobacter annii.
Their findings reveal that although the number of children aged under 5 dying from drug-resistant infections has fallen by more 50% over the past 3 decades, mortality rates in people aged over 70 have increased by 80% (see ‘Resistance crisis’).
The University of California, Berkeley epidemiologist Joseph Lewnard says it is an important contribution for understanding how we are and for giving a rational expectation of the future burden of resistance.
