World leaders declare target of 10% reduction in superbug deaths by 2030

World leaders have committed to reduce deaths linked to superbugs by 10% before the end of the decade.

The target for 2030, set during a meeting at the UN’s general assembly in New York, came with warnings that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) could reverse a century of medical progress.

AMR, where pathogens such as bacteria evolve so that existing medicines no longer work against them, is linked to 4.7 million deaths each year. The toll is projected to reach 8.2 million per year by 2050 on current forecasts.

The new political declaration on AMR, signed by 193 member states, calls for scaled-up action across sectors including farming, pharmaceutical manufacture, environmental protection and healthcare.

Speaking shortly before it was made, Mia Mottley, the prime minister of Barbados who chairs the Global Leaders Group on AMR, described the meeting as a “landmark event” that was vital to safeguarding future generations.

“This is a press conference not for us with grey hair so much, but for the young people of the world, because they’re the ones who will have to face the possible threat of a reversal of a century of medical progress in what we dub the silent, slow-motion pandemic,” she said.

She described the potential for a world in which an infection caused by a scratch while gardening, in childbirth or from dental treatment could cause death within a few days, because of a lack of effective antibiotics.

The declaration invites the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Environment Programme, World Organisation for Animal Health, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN to establish an independent panel – akin to that set up for climate change – to provide scientific evidence to support strategies against AMR. They will also update a global action plan on AMR by 2026.

It also calls for financial support for poorer countries where the issue is most acute. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, said the declaration was “a strong signal from countries that they are committed to addressing this global threat”.