World Health Organization

The Evolving Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance: Options for Action World Health Organization

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is not a recent phenomenon, but it is a critical health issue today. Over several decades, to varying degrees, bacteria causing common infections have developed resistance to each new antibiotic, and AMR has evolved to become a worldwide health threat. With a dearth of new antibiotics coming to market, the need for action to avert a developing global crisis in health care is increasingly urgent.

The World Health Organization has long recognized AMR as a growing global health threat, and the World Health Assembly, through several resolutions over two decades, has called upon member states and the international community to take measures to curtail the emergence and spread of AMR. The WHO Global strategy for the containment of antimicrobial resistance, published in 2001, set out a comprehensive set of recommendations for AMR control which remain valid today. This book examines the experiences with implementing some of those recommendations ten years on, the lessons learnt along the way and the remaining gaps.