European ministers urged to help poorer countries cope with global challenge
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an emerging public health threat requiring a globally coordinated effort to counter the risks it poses to food security, the FAO's deputy director told a conference of European agriculture and health ministers in Amsterdam. Overuse of antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents fosters resistance, jeopardising the drugs' potential to cure diseases and threatening to reverse a century of progress in human and animal health. Aside from the human health considerations, the emergence of microbes resistant to antibiotics has an impact on rural livelihoods and food security. FAO's Governing Conference in 2015 called for urgent action at both the national and international levels to respond to the growing threat of drug-resistant pathogens in the world's food producing systems, both terrestrial and aquatic. See Sustain's campaign to protect life-saving drugs and stop oversue of antibiotics in farm animals.
Published Friday 12 February 2016
Sustain: Sustain The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity.
