First ever guidance issued on antibiotic pollution to fight rise of superbugs

UN Interviews

This is Daniel Johnson for UN News.

Superbugs – or bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics – continue to be a major worry for the medical community and health authorities, because if they emerge and spread globally, life-saving drugs will no longer work.

As part of the global effort to prevent such antimicrobial resistance, the UN World Health Organization on Tuesday launched the first-ever guidance for manufacturers of antibiotics on what to do with their wastewater.

The guidance has been developed in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and its launch is timed ahead of the UN General Assembly high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance on 26 September.

With more, here’s Kate Medlicott, Team lead of sanitation and wastewater in the UN health agency’s Department of Climate, Environment and Health, who I caught up with in Geneva.