“This is something that has to bind the world together”. Professor Jeremy Farrar, the Wellcome Trust director, was not referring to climate change in Davos earlier this year but what most leading lights in global health view as perhaps the greatest global public health threat: resistance to antibiotics.
The World Economic Forum raised this issue in its 2013 flagship global risk report and rightly stressed it again in this year’s edition. What is known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is already killing more than 700,000 people globally each year and the annual death toll could reach 10 million by 2050 if nothing changes.
According to the World Bank, in addition to human losses, AMR will increase poverty and have a global economic and financial impact of the magnitude of the 2008 financial crisis but with “no prospects for a cyclical recovery in the medium term”.
So why has something as common as taking antibiotics to treat infections become such a threat to the very lives it is meant to save? The overuse – and sometimes misuse – of antibiotics in treating humans and animals has led to the rise of resistant bacteria. Also called superbugs, they can reduce or even eliminate the effectiveness of antibiotics.
When a patient is infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, illnesses last longer and are harder to treat. They require stronger and more expensive drugs as well as more doctors’ visits. More importantly, resistance to antibiotics can lead to deadly bacterial infections. Superbugs are also highly infectious.
Global healthcare stakeholders as well as governments are well aware of the issue and many initiatives have been launched globally to change antibiotic-related behaviour. At the end of last year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) set up an informal consultation in Geneva, Switzerland, to hear from some of the foremost health experts in behaviour change.
Four key target audiences for behaviour change were identified, referred to as the “four Ps”: public, prescribers, pharmacists and policymakers.
Often, pressure from the patient plays a key role in a physician’s prescription of antibiotics. Patients need to be informed that when it comes to viruses, for instance, prescribing antibiotics will not help.
Behaviour change experts from the UK's Behavioural Insights Team have conducted a successful field experiment to persuade GPs to prescribe fewer antibiotics.
Letters were issued by Dr Sally Fields, the country’s chief medical officer, to GPs who were “prescribing antibiotics at a higher rate than 80 per cent of practices” in their local area.
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Evidence-based policy will save us all a headache
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We need to reward those who dedicate their lives to shaping our children's minds
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The results of this randomised control trial, published in the Lancet, indicate that peer pressure induced by the letter – “other practitioners prescribe less than you do” – succeeded in reducing antibiotic prescription over six months.
Besides GPs, the food and agriculture industry also needs to make significant efforts. In its report focusing on AMR in animal production, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation indicates that white meat – the main sources of animal protein – are “important food-based vehicles of AMR transmission to humans”.
It is a conclusion that some key stakeholders in the agriculture industry, not surprisingly, dispute.
The Davos talk I mentioned earlier was organised for the launch of the antimicrobial resistance benchmark by the Access to Medicine Foundation.
This initiative compared AMR efforts across the pharmaceutical industry. The evaluation was based on the companies’ effort in research and development for new antimicrobials, policies for ensuring antibiotics are manufactured responsibly and approaches to ensure antimicrobials are accessible and used wisely.
The benchmark indicates that in the global pharmaceutical companies group, GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson and Johnson were leading, followed by Pfizer and Novartis. The leaders in the generic medicine manufacturers and biotech groups were Mylan and Entasis respectively.
The UK and Dutch governments, who sponsored the benchmark, as well as the German, US and Chinese governments, are among the most proactive countries in fighting AMR.
A month ago in Dubai, during the UAE’s International Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance, Dr Najiba Abdulrazzaq, the national AMR committee co-chair, declared that a Cabinet decree will be released to regulate the UAE AMR action plan, in line with WHO’s global action plan on antimicrobial resistance.
It is estimated that more than 90 per cent of the global population lives in countries that have an AMR plan in action or under development. It is therefore our individual responsibility to change our behaviour to contribute to the fight against AMR.
Simple actions like putting less pressure on GPs to prescribe antibiotics and consuming food that is antibiotic free are necessary steps to fight the resistance – and in doing so, save millions of lives.
Professor Olivier Oullier is the president of Emotiv, a neuroscientist and a DJ. He served as global head of strategy in health and healthcare and member of the executive committee of the World Economic Forum
Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle
Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)
Secret Nation: The Hidden Armenians of Turkey
Avedis Hadjian, (IB Tauris)
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Poacher
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERichie%20Mehta%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nimisha%20Sajayan%2C%20Roshan%20Mathew%2C%20Dibyendu%20Bhattacharya%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lee%20Sang-yong%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Don%20Lee%2C%20Lee%20Jun-hyuk%2C%20Munetaka%20Aoki%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20TV%204K%20(THIRD%20GENERATION)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECPU%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Apple%20A15%20Bionic%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECapacity%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2064GB%2C%20Wi-Fi%20only%3B%20128GB%2C%20Wi-Fi%20%2B%20ethernet%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EConnectivity%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wi-Fi%206%2C%20Bluetooth%205.0%2C%20ethernet%20(Wi-Fi%20%2B%20ethernet%20model%20only)%2C%20IR%20receiver%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EI%2FO%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HDMI%2C%20ethernet%20(128GB%20model%20only)%3B%20Siri%20remote%20(charging%20via%20USB-C)%3B%20accessibility%20features%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EVideo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SDR%2FDolby%20Vision%2FHDR10%2B%20up%20to%202160p%20%40%2060fps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPeripherals%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Compatible%20with%20HD%2FUHD%20TVs%20via%20HDMI%2C%20Bluetooth%20keyboards%2C%20AirPods%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPhoto%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20GIF%2C%20HEIF%2C%20JPEG%2C%20TIFF%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EColour%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Black%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIn%20the%20box%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20TV%204K%2C%20Siri%20remote%2C%20power%20cord%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dh529%2C%20Wi-Fi%20only%3B%20Dh599%2C%20Wi-Fi%20%2B%20ethernet%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
more from Janine di Giovanni
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Sri Lanka World Cup squad
Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal.
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Mane 51', Salah 53'
Chelsea 0
Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Getting%20there%20and%20where%20to%20stay
%3Cp%3EEtihad%20Airways%20operates%20seasonal%20flights%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi%20to%20Nice%20C%C3%B4te%20d'Azur%20Airport.%20Services%20depart%20the%20UAE%20on%20Wednesdays%20and%20Sundays%20with%20outbound%20flights%20stopping%20briefly%20in%20Rome%2C%20return%20flights%20are%20non-stop.%20Fares%20start%20from%20Dh3%2C315%2C%20flights%20operate%20until%20September%2018%2C%202022.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20Radisson%20Blu%20Hotel%20Nice%20offers%20a%20western%20location%20right%20on%20Promenade%20des%20Anglais%20with%20rooms%20overlooking%20the%20Bay%20of%20Angels.%20Stays%20are%20priced%20from%20%E2%82%AC101%20(%24114)%2C%20including%20taxes.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50