Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is already among the top 10 global health threats. “If AMR is going to impact our present and future, then we, the young people, should be most concerned. We have to combat AMR, prevent AMR, and engage youth,” said Mayowa Sodiq Akinpelu, Chair of African Youth Antimicrobial Resistance Alliance Task Force. Mayowa was speaking at the launch of a Youth Manifesto for the United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (UNHLM on AMR).

This youth manifesto has been prepared by a consultation process facilitated by the Quadripartite Working Group on Youth Engagement for AMR, shared Dr Philip Mathew of the World Health Organization (WHO) AMR Awareness, Campaign and Advocacy team (on LinkedIn), who was present at the launch of the youth manifesto.

“If we do not stop AMR, we the youth, will be suffering its catastrophic impact when we are adults of the day. We have to avert this challenge,” said Nahashon Gicheru, a member of Quadripartite Working Group on Youth Engagement for AMR.

“Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and become resistant to (or no longer respond to) medicines, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. AMR is a problem driven by misuse and overuse of antimicrobial medicines, including antibiotics and antivirals, and results in critical medicines losing effectiveness to treat infections,” said Thomas Joseph, Head, AMR Awareness, Advocacy and Campaigns, World Health Organization (WHO) HQ.

When AMR is preventable, then even one death is a death too many. AMR is associated with an estimated 4.95 million deaths annually, mainly in low- and middle-income countries.

AMR is a health concern that affects all ages. It also transcends borders, both territorial and scientific, affecting human, animal and plant health as well as the environment, weaving a complex net of global repercussions. AMR can significantly affect achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda. Financially, AMR would cost the world........

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