By Abdallah ELKUREBE I The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on countries to translate global commitments on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) into funded, measurable actions, warning that weak implementation, inadequate financing and poor surveillance continue to undermine efforts to tackle the growing health threat.
ASHENEWS reports that the WHO, FAO, UNEP and WOAH are working under the Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on AMR to strengthen governance, surveillance, responsible antimicrobial use and infection prevention across sectors.
The WHO said bacterial AMR was associated with more than 4.7 million deaths in 2021, describing the crisis as one of the most urgent global health and development challenges.
Dr Jean-Pierre Nyemazi, Director a.i. of WHO’s Department of Antimicrobial Resistance and Director of the Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on AMR, said the problem threatens the ability to treat infections, protect animal and plant health and produce safe food, while also affecting the environment.
Nyemazi spoke at the 6th Annual Global Media Forum on AMR ahead of the 2026 World AMR Awareness Week, scheduled for November 18–24, under the theme, “One Health, One Action: Prevent AMR Now.”
He said AMR is driven by the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials, gaps in infection prevention, poor water and sanitation, and environmental contamination.
At the 2024 United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR, world leaders pledged to reduce bacterial AMR-associated deaths by 10 per cent by 2030 from the 2019 baseline of 4.95 million.
They also committed to ensuring that at least 60 per cent of countries have funded national AMR action plans by 2030 and called for at least $100 million in catalytic funding, including through the AMR Multi-Partner Trust Fund.
However, Nyemazi said the gap between political commitments and implementation remained wide because of limited financing, fragmented coordination and weak surveillance.
“Global pledges matter only when they deliver results in communities,” he said, urging journalists to sustain public attention through accurate, evidence-based and solution-focused reporting.
Countries urged to strengthen AMR implementation
Dr Kefas Samson, Senior Technical Officer and Lead of Multisectoral Coordination in WHO’s AMR Department, said countries needed support to assess their needs, cost interventions and adapt implementation to local realities.
He identified inadequate financing, weak nationwide surveillance of AMR and antimicrobial use, poor infection prevention in healthcare facilities, limited diagnostic capacity, unequal access to quality-assured antimicrobials and workforce shortages among the major barriers to progress. Pasted markdown(2)
According to Samson, WHO is strengthening surveillance and monitoring to generate reliable data, track implementation of the updated Global Action Plan on AMR and measure progress towards the 2030 targets.
Among the targets is ensuring that 70 per cent of antibiotics used in human health belong to WHO’s Access group, while 80 per cent of countries should be able to test for priority bacterial and fungal pathogens included in the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System.
The updated Global Action Plan on AMR for 2026–2036, described by Samson as a renewed blueprint, focuses on prevention, cross-sector surveillance, responsible antimicrobial use, stronger laboratories, equitable access, resilient supply chains, research, innovation and sustainable financing.
The plan is expected to be launched at the Fifth Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on AMR in Abuja from December 6 to 8, 2026.
Livestock antibiotic use could rise 30% by 2040
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned that global antibiotic use in livestock could increase by nearly 30 per cent by 2040 without stronger preventive measures.
Dr Junxia Song, FAO Deputy Chief Veterinarian and Chief of its One Health and Disease Control Branch, said better animal health and farm management practices could reduce antibiotic use by as much as 57 per cent.
She said prevention must become central to the global response to AMR, with farmers placed at the heart of efforts.
Song said the agri-food sector remained inadequately integrated and funded in many national AMR action plans, while nearly half of countries had either no legislation or only partial legislation governing antimicrobial use in animal and plant health.
She said FAO’s Reduce the Need for Antimicrobials on Farms (RENOFARM) initiative was addressing the gap through better health services, improved production practices, alternatives and innovation, incentives, and stronger connections among stakeholders.
More than 400 partners, including over 80 FAO member countries, are engaged in the initiative, while FAO’s InFARM system has involved 80 countries in strengthening AMR monitoring across agri-food systems.
UNEP warns environmental neglect could undermine AMR fight
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said the global response to AMR could fail unless environmental pollution is tackled alongside interventions targeting human health, agriculture and animal health.
Aitziber Echeverria, AMR Coordinator, Chemicals and Health Branch, UNEP, said the environment plays a critical role in the emergence, transmission and spread of AMR.
She identified pharmaceutical manufacturing, agriculture and food systems, healthcare, and municipal waste and wastewater management as four priority areas requiring urgent intervention.
Echeverria called for stronger environmental monitoring, wastewater treatment, safe antimicrobial disposal, laboratory capacity and environmental surveillance.
She also urged governments to ensure that environmental authorities are represented in national AMR governance structures and that environmental objectives are properly funded in national action plans.
$1 investment in animal health can yield $28 return
The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said increased investment in animal disease prevention and stronger animal health systems could deliver significant economic returns.
Dr Jane Lwoyero, Programme Officer at WOAH, said every $1 invested in preventing animal diseases and improving animal health systems could generate a $28 return.
She identified vaccination, farm biosecurity, surveillance and veterinary services as essential measures for preventing infections and reducing antimicrobial use.
Lwoyero said only fewer than 20 per cent of WOAH member countries vaccinate animals against notifiable diseases, while animal diseases cause estimated annual losses of up to $300 billion globally.
She also said global antimicrobial use in animals fell by three per cent between 2019 and 2024, but antimicrobial use for growth promotion remained a concern.
According to WOAH, 74 per cent of countries do not use antimicrobials for growth promotion, while 19 per cent report using them and seven per cent have not reported their position. Countries permitting the practice use 45 per cent more antimicrobials than those that do not, Lwoyero said.
She called for stronger coordination across sectors, sustainable financing and greater integration of animal health into national AMR action plans.
