AMR is a threat to human health and the global food system.Ottawa- An Antimicrobial Resistance Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform has been established by four international organizations to ensure the growing threats and impacts of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are addressed globally.The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Environment Program (UNEP) are joining forces with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) to form the Quadripartite to raise awareness of the threat AMR presents to humans, animals, plants, ecosystems and livelihoods.In a joint statement, they said the Platform will serve as an international forum for a One Health approach to AMR highlighting the need to improve coordination of efforts by a large number of stakeholders.Health Canada issued a lengthy document on the threat AMR posed back in 2003, which was part of the then growing awareness of the health challenge.An estimated 1.3 million people around the world die each year directly due to AMR, the Quadripartite said. “If no action is taken, that number could soar dramatically, bringing higher public health costs and pushing more people into poverty, especially in low-income countries, underscoring the need for the Platform to mobilize further coordinated efforts.“Antibiotics and other antimicrobials play a key role in the success of modern medicine and have greatly improved the health of humans and animals. But overuse and misuse has reduced their efficacy, with more pathogens developing the ability to survive the antimicrobials designed to eliminate them.”AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial agents. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents become ineffective and infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.The Platform said 1.3 billion people rely on livestock for their livelihoods and 20 million people depend on aquaculture, especially in low and middle-income countries. “The spread of resistant strains of pathogens inexorably affects their livelihoods, as it increases animal suffering and losses.“Applications to crops, as well as improper disposal of unused and expired drugs and waste from industries and communities can lead to pollution of soils and streams that spread the trigger for unwanted microorganisms to develop resistance to tools meant to contain and eliminate them.”FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said AMR threatens animal health, food safety and food security, economic prosperity and ecosystems worldwide. The world needs to join forces now to prevent drug-resistant diseases and reduce its implications.”