We must act now to tackle antimicrobial resistance — the next global health threat

This year we have seen first hand how global health threats do not respect borders and cannot be solved in one economic centre. We must learn that lesson and urgently address antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a threat that seems distant, but may prove devastating for families, communities and whole economies.

We all want to prevent another global pandemic — so we must start with one that we know is already at our doors.

Antibiotics underpin modern medicine. But misuse and over-consumption in humans and in fish and livestock farming are fostering drug-resistant infections, or AMR, meaning that our everyday treatments are less and less effective. We risk compromising the ability of the NHS and global healthcare systems to deliver routine treatments from caesarean sections to chemotherapy.