According to data from the WHO, AMR is directly responsible for 1.3 million deaths and contributes to 5 million deaths every year. “But this is just the start,” says the WHO, adding that AMR “also threatens our economic future, with an estimated global annual cost of up to US$3.4 trillion by 2030 and 28 million people pushed into poverty by 2050.”
“Behind every number, there is a real human cost”: this is how strongly the World Health Organization (WHO) presents the global public health issue of antimicrobial resistance, explaining further that “limited treatment options, extended hospital stays, constant medication, prolonged loss of income, medical debt, poverty, family loss, grief… The burden keeps adding up, and lives are seriously impacted, in some cases fatally.”
In response to this global scenario, the WHO has launched an audiovisual and participatory campaign that we, from the IMAGINE project, want to share to contribute to promoting the appropriate use of antibiotics and combating antimicrobial resistance.
Specifically, the WHO states that “by sharing real-life experiences of AMR, we aim to illustrate its tangible impact and promote global action. WHO urges governments, NGOs, civil society groups, youth and student organizations, universities, healthcare professionals, private stakeholders, and media to act and engage local communities in raising awareness around this global health crisis.”