Antimicrobial resistance in the Pacific
Can you think of a time when you have been ill or had an infection? Did you take medicine that helped make you feel better? Now imagine if that medicine no longer worked. This problem – antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – is a global problem threatening our health and socioeconomic future.
But why should we care about antimicrobial resistance in the Pacific? Beyond statistics, the cost is real to Pacific people. Antimicrobial resistance can lead to complications for treating other diseases such as surgery. The burden and consequences are not only treatment and medication costs, but also prolonged loss of income, family loss, and grief. Some hard-hitting stats and facts about antimicrobial resistance:
- In the Pacific, up to 32,000 people are expected to die between 2020 and 2030 due to drug-resistance[1]—this is roughly equivalent to the entire populations of Nauru, Pitcairn Islands, Tuvalu, and Wallis and Futuna.
- By 2030, AMR is estimated to cost Pacific island countries and areas (PICs) including Papua New Guinea – an additional US$ 500 million per year, mostly due to lost productivity and additional health care expenses.
- Globally, AMR is directly responsible for approximately 1.3 million deaths and contributes to an additional 5 million deaths every year.
What is antimicrobial resistance or AMR? Antimicrobials are substances or medicine that slow or kill the growth of microbes or germs like bacteria, parasite viruses and fungi. Antimicrobials prevent, treat and control infections in humans, animals, and plants. You may have had an antimicrobial such as antibiotics, antifungals or antiseptics. Antimicrobial resistance ;(AMR) is when microbes or germs no longer respond to these medicines—also known as drug resistance. This makes infections harder to treat and increases the risk of disease spreading, severe illness, or even death.
Why does antimicrobial resistance happen? Antimicrobial resistance in the Pacific is driven by:
- Global misuse and overuse of antibiotics, in humans and animals. These increases are likely happening in the Pacific but there is not enough Pacific data to accurately estimate antimicrobial resistance.
- Lack of access to clean water and sanitation for humans and animals.
- Poor infection, prevention and control measures in healthcare facilities.
- Limited access to healthcare, including quality-assured, safe effective medicines—including vaccines, and proper infrastructure.
- Under-established surveillance systems and laboratories.
- Increasing international travel and medical tourism.
WHO. What. Where – Pacific partnerships and collaboration action against antimicrobial resistance
Setting goals is critical in turning the invisible into the visible. Earlier this year, ten Pacific island countries, committed to action on AMR at the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance. This included setting clear targets and actions like reducing the estimated 4.95 million human deaths associated with bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) annually by 10% by 2030. PICs are advancing their efforts to address AMR, in line with the priorities of the Pacific Islands WHO Multi-country Cooperation Strategy 2024-2029, including building resilience to multi-hazard public health threats. Regionally, combating antimicrobial resistance is a key area to protect populations from exposure and impacts of life-threatening situations in the new Weaving Health for Families, Communities and Societies in the Western Pacific Region (2025-2029).
“AMR is unseen and knows no borders, it is critical that WHO’s collaboration with partners in the health, agriculture and environment sectors continue to combat antimicrobial resistance taking a One Health approach,” urges Dr Nuha Mahmoud, Team Coordinator for Pacific Health Security and Communicable Diseases in the WHO South Pacific.
Working alongside Pacific One Health partners and the Quadripartite Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, United Nations Environment Programme, World Organisation for Animal Health, and the Pacific Community (SPC), WHO is supporting development and update to plans and policies. Currently, ten PICs have action plans to tackle AMR: Fiji, Cook Islands, the Republic of Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, in addition strengthening surveillance and laboratories capacity for early detection, as well as advancing digital systems to enable information sharing at regional and global platforms to estimate the burden of AMR and inform solutions.
With funding from the European Union, the Republic of Korea Government, and USAID, WHO worked with PICs in early detection and management of outbreaks.
Call to action
How can we all help promote action? AMR is invisible, but your stories don’t have to be. Join other survivors and advocates to share your story with your local communities to raise awareness and stop antimicrobial resistance happening. Learn more about the campaign - AMR is invisible. I am not and ideas on how you can get involved for all including policymakers, young people, media and marketing partners, schools and universities, NGOs and civil society groups, resource partners and those in the private sector. These actions can help to promote responsible use of antibiotics and other antimicrobials, increase financing and investment into safe water and sanitation, surveillance and laboratory capacity, as well as stronger political will and coordinated action across sectors.