World leaders need to do more to prevent the negative effects of drug-resistant infections, according to the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance in their report published last week.
If things stay the way they are, there could be an average loss of 1.8 years of life expectancy by 2035, according to the Global Leaders Group, which is made up of heads of state and leaders from the public and private sectors. In fact, some low- and middle-income countries would experience a decline in life expectancy of 2.5 years. Additionally, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) would cost $412 billion globally each year in healthcare costs and $443 billion in lost productivity, the group said.
About 4.95 million deaths in 2019 have been linked to drug-resistant infections, with 1.27 million deaths directly attributable to those infections. According to estimates, about 65% of 1.4 million people who live in a nursing home have a multidrug-resistant organism in them.
A more coordinated response at the United Nations (UN) High-Level Meeting on AMR in September could avert the deleterious impacts, the authors of the report said. The report lists recommendations that could “move the world from rhetoric to specific comments and actions.”
“We have the tools to mitigate the AMR crisis and these data point to a devastating future if we do not take bolder action now,” Mia Amor Mottley, chair of the Global Leaders Group and prime minister of Barbados, said in a statement. “That is why the Global Leaders Group is making recommendations and proposing targets to drive a robust global response to AMR and save millions of lives.”
One of the groups’ suggestions is for members of the UN to come to a consensus on adequate financing to support AMR interventions. Existing financial outfits such as the Global Fund and World Bank, should expand their financing, the recommendations include. The interventions could cost about $46 billion each year but would give a return of $13 for every $1 spent by 2025.
About 90% of countries have developed national action plans but only 25% of them are funded, the authors pointed out. The report also recommends that countries give more diagnostic, laboratory, and other resources to support surveillance.
