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. 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-resistance1—roughly equivalent to the combined 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 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 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. It can also make a range of health procedures, like surgery, more hazardous.
Why does antimicrobial resistance happen? Antimicrobial resistance in the Pacific is driven by:
- Misuse and overuse of antibiotics, in humans and animals, but more data in the Pacific is needed to accurately estimate antimicrobial resistance.
- Lack of access to clean water and sanitation for humans and animals, fostering an environment where resistant bacteria can thrive and spread.
- Poor infection prevention and control measures in healthcare facilities.
- Limited access to healthcare, including quality-assured, safe effective medicines.
- Limited laboratory capacity.
- Increasing international travel including travel to countries to receive healthcare. Facilities in another country may not have adequate infection control practices, which poses a risk for getting a drug-resistant infection and bringing that infection home with you.
Pacific partnerships and collaboration action against antimicrobial resistance
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. Furthermore, in the new regional vision, Weaving Health for Families, Communities and Societies in the Western Pacific Region (2025-2029), combating antimicrobial resistance is a key area to protect populations from exposure and impacts of life-threatening situations.
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 to strengthening surveillance and laboratory capacity for early detection, PICs are advancing digital systems to enable information sharing with regional and global platforms in support of estimating the burden of AMR and informing solutions.
“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.
WHO continues to work 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) to collaborate against antimicrobial resistance. With funding from the European Union, the Republic of Korea Government, and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), WHO is working with PICs on early detection and management of outbreaks of AMR.
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. Your 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.
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1 Health and economic impacts of antimicrobial resistance in the Western Pacific Region, 2020-2030