A ‘whole of United Nations approach’ to tackle antimicrobial resistance? A mapping of the mandate and activities of international organisations

In addition to the perceived problem of ‘antibiotic resistance’ is that of ‘antimicrobial resistance’, which, according to the February 2018 WHO fact sheet entitled Antimicrobial resistance, “…threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi.”

This situation is demonstrated by the February 2018 WHO fact sheet entitled Antibiotic resistance, which claims that, “A growing number of infections...are becoming harder to treat as the antibiotics used to treat them become less effective.” Although no explanation is offered for the mechanism by which bacteria develop ‘resistance’ to antibiotics,