WHO Launches New Global Tool To Combat Antimicrobial Resistance - Release

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th June, 2019) The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a press release on Tuesday that it is urging countries around the world to adopt a new tool designed to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

"WHO today launched a global campaign urging governments to adopt a tool to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance, adverse events and costs," the release said, adding that antimicrobial resistance represents one of the most pressing global health threats.

The new tool, which is dubbed AWaRe and classifies antibiotics into three groups - access, watch and reserve - will be officially launched on June 19, WHO said.

Antibiotics that fall under the access group should be used to treat the most common and severe infections, the ones in the watch group includes antibiotics that should be available at hospitals at all times and those in the reserve group should be used only as a last resort, WHO explained.

AWaRe aims to increase the proportion of consumption of the access group antibiotics to at least 60 percent worldwide while reducing the use of the watch and reserve groups that people are most at risk developing resistance, WHO said.

A report by the International Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance warned that if no action is taken, drug-resistant infections could cause 10 million deaths each year by 2050, as well as force up to 24 million people into extreme poverty by 2030. The report noted that more than 700,000 people die every year due to drug-resistant diseases.