Antimicrobial Resistance

About AMR

What is it?
What is it?
FAO's role
FAO's role
Who we are
Who we are
Key sectors
Key sectors

Antimicrobial drugs are key in the treatment of diseases, and their use is essential to protect both human and animal health. However, antimicrobials misuse in the livestock sector, aquaculture and crop production is a major concern as a risk for emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistant micro-organisms.

Key facts

In 2019, 5 million human deaths were associated by bacterial antimicrobial resistance worldwide, including 1.3 million human deaths attributable to bacterial AMR (The Lancet)

27 different antimicrobial classes used in animals

Total global animal health market in 2011 was equivalent to USD 22 billion (OECD)

118 countries reported quantitative data on antimicrobial use in animals between 2015 and 2017, an increase from 89 reporting in 2015

Publications

Congress of FAO Reference Centres for Antimicrobial Resistance: meeting report

The FAO Reference Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland offered to host the first in-person congress for colleagues from all Reference Centres for AMR in 2023, to [...]

Highlights from the One Health Priority Research Agenda for Antimicrobial Resistance

This booklet has been developed in order to facilitate the dissemination of findings in addition to the One Health Priority Research Agenda for AMR (AMR-OHPRA) main document.

Guidelines on monitoring antimicrobial use at the farm level

The guideline provides detailed guidance on establishing a farm-level AMU monitoring system: conducting a situational analysis; establishing an operational mechanism; technical preparation...

News

FAO launches global 10-year initiative to reduce the need for antimicrobials for sustainable agrifood systems transformation

RENOFARM, or Reduce the Need for Antimicrobials on Farms for Sustainable Agrifood Systems Transformation already piloted in Indonesia, Uganda and Nigeria

Call for the provision of information: Good practices and success stories on responsible antimicrobials use (AMU) and to reduce the need for AMU in agri-food systems

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a global health and development challenge, threatening human and animal health and welfare, food security and nutrition, food safety, productivity, and the environment, as well as the livelihoods of farmers worldwide. FAO [...]

Amid the escalating impact of antimicrobial resistance, the Global Leaders Group calls on UN Member States to take bold and concrete action

Geneva, 4 April 2024 – Results from an economic study confirm that the already staggering human toll of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) will be compounded by a catastrophic hit to the global economy unless bolder and [...]

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