SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS IGNORe A MAJOR THREAT
Putting a check on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is needed for the success of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Why does antibiotic resistance matter?
By the facts:
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 endeavors to create a world without poverty, yet antimicrobial resistance might force an additional 24 million into poverty by 2030.
AMR would lead to a far greater reduction to low-income countries' economic growth than wealthy countries. This could further widen economic inequality between countries and threatens SDG Goal 10-Reduce inequality within and among countries,
In 2016, the Political Declaration of the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on Antimicrobial Resistance recognized that "antimicrobial resistance challenges the sustainability and effectiveness of the public health response to [communicable] and other diseases as well as gains in health and development and the attainment of the 2030 Agenda."
With impacts on children (pneumonia), adults and the elderly (cancer and surgery), antibiotic resistant infections complicate the success of several targets of SDG Goal 3–Good Health and Wellbeing.
Antimicrobial resistance impacts the Sustainable Development Goals for greater health, economic growth, and inequality. Ignoring antimicrobial resistance threatens the 2030 agenda and without effective antibiotics, attaining the Sustainable Development Goals would be unattainable.
Take action!
Click to Tweet: What gets measured, gets managed. For sustainable development, AMR must be in the #SDGs @UN_EWEC @UNStats via @reactgroup
Click to Tweet: Easy as ABC, AMR must be in the #SDGs @UN_EWEC @UNStats #SDGSummit via @reactgroup
Click to Tweet: FACT: Antibiotic resistance is a top 10 threat to global health.
ACT: Track priority superbugs in the #Global Goals @UN_EWEC @UNStats via @reactgroup
Additional resources
Article
AMR: A threat to the world’s sustainable development (Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences)
Policy
Political Declaration of the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on Antimicrobial Resistance (United Nations)
Policy
Open Letter to UN Member States from former IACG members (ReAct)
Report
When the drugs don’t work: Antibiotic resistance as a global development problem (ReAct)
Advocacy
Call to action: AMR-specific indicator proposed for monitoring Sustainable Development Goals (Antibiotic Resistance Coalition)
Report
Drug-resistant infections: A threat to our economic future (World Bank Group)
Advocacy
AMR-specific indicator proposed for monitoring Sustainable Development Goals (ReAct)
Created in 2005 ReAct - Action on Antibiotic Resistance is one of the first international independent networks to articulate the complex nature of antibiotic resistance and its drivers. ReAct was initiated with the goal to be a global catalyst, advocating and stimulating for global engagement on antibiotic resistance by collaborating with a broad range of organisations, individuals and stakeholders.
The IDEA (Innovation + Design Enabling Access) Initiative based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health seeks to foster innovation and the design of new technologies for greater health access and impact through a combination of research, policy work, and training. It also collaborates with a variety of initiatives across Johns Hopkins University and beyond.
To learn more about our Initiative, visit this post by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Views expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect those of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
