World leaders have sounded the alarm about antimicrobial resistance and called for immediate action to curb the overuse of antibiotics in human patients and farm animals. In a high-level meeting on September 21, the UN General Assembly adopted a declaration aimed at curbing the spread of infections that are resistant to antimicrobial medicines. It is only the fourth time in history that a health issue has been discussed at the assembly, so far only HIV, noncommunicable diseases and Ebola made it on the agenda. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) happens when bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi become resistant to medicines that were previously able to cure them, making it increasingly difficult to treat common and life-threatening infections like pneumonia and post-operative infections. The head of states committed to addressing the root causes of AMR across all sectors. According to a joint press release by several UN institutions, the high levels of AMR worldwide are the result of overuse and misuse of antibiotics and other antimicrobials in humans, animals (including farmed fish), and crops, as well as the spread of residues of these medicines in soil, crops, and water. “AMR is a problem not just in our hospitals, but on our farms and in our food, too. Agriculture must shoulder its share of responsibility, both by using antimicrobials more responsibly and by cutting down on the need to use them, through good farm hygiene,” said Dr José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Alastair Kenneil, a campaigner with the non-profit organisation Farms not Factories, finds clearer words: “For decades factory farmers have been pumping antibiotics into livestock to compensate for inhumane and disease-inducing conditions. Now, bacteria are fighting back,” he wrote in the Ecologist. AMR is predicted to have significant social, health security, and economic consequences that will seriously undermine the development of countries. According to a recently released World Bank report, drug-resistant infections could cause low-income countries to lose more than 5% of their GDP and push up to 28 million people, mostly in developing countries, into poverty by 2050. “Antimicrobial resistance threatens the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and requires a global response,” said Peter Thomson, the President of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly. He described the adopted UN declaration as “a good basis for the international community to move forward”. The UN nations reaffirmed their commitment to develop national action plans on AMR, based on the global action plans on antimicrobial resistance developped by the WHO, the FAO and the World Organisation for Animal Health. Peter Stevensen, chief policy advisor at the animal welfare organization Compassion in World Farming, welcomed the FAO action plan. “However, it fights shy of offering effective solutions,” he told Global Meat News. The UN declaration also recognises the need for stronger systems to monitor drug-resistant infections and the volume of antimicrobials used in humans, animals, and crops, as well as increased international cooperation and funding. “Antimicrobial resistance poses a fundamental threat to human health, development, and security. The commitments made today must now be translated into swift, effective, lifesaving actions across the human, animal, and environmental health sectors. We are running out of time,” urged Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO. (ab)