Recent data show that infections with drug resistant pathogens contributes to nearly 5 million deaths a year worldwide and disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries. ^[1] These infections lead to increased healthcare costs and result in lower productivity, with global GDP reductions estimated at 1- 3% by 2030 threatening economic development.

Health security including AMR is one of the thematic priorities for WHO’s work with Member States and partners in the Western Pacific Region. Progress has been made in the past few years including the endorsement of the Regional Committee the Framework for Accelerating Action to Fight Antimicrobial Resistance in the Western Pacific in 2019. As of today (2022), 21 out of 27 countries in the Region have endorsed and are implementing national action plans to combat AMR.

However, a WHO global survey shows that among the 86% of countries who have developed multisectoral AMR national action plans, only 20% of them are actively monitoring their implementation. We have seen strong political commitment across countries in the Region, but more should be done to stimulate or accelerate the implementation of national action plans to ensure the antimicrobials resistance is no longer a threat.

Pathogens change every day. We are losing lives by not acting quickly enough. We must work together and redouble efforts to accelerate action against AMR to prevent this crisis at our doorstep. The clock is ticking.

^[1] Antimicrobial Resistance Collaborators, Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis, The Lancet, Jan 2022