Antibiotic resistance could be ‘even greater threat to mankind than cancer’, warns George Osborne
The Chancellor is urging for global action saying 10 million people a year could die by 2050
Increasing resistance to antibiotics could become "an even greater threat to mankind than cancer" George Osborne is today warning.
The Chancellor is urging for global action on the issues, revealing 10 million people a year could die by 2050 if nothing is done.
That figure is higher than those who currently die of cancer, he will tell delegates at an International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington.
The Chancellor will also say there is an "enormous economic cost" too if antibiotics become powerless against common infections.
Figures suggest antimicrobial resistance could reduce global GDP by up to 3.5% - a cumulative cost of £70 trillion by 2050.
He will say: "The cost of doing nothing, both in terms of lives lost and money wasted, is too great, and the world needs to come together to agree a common approach.
"We have to dramatically shift incentives for pharmaceutical companies and others to create a long-term solution to this problem, with new rewards, funded globally, that support the development of new antibiotics and ensure access to antibiotics in the developing world.
"To achieve a long-term solution we also need better rapid diagnostics that will cut the vast amounts of unnecessary antibiotic use."
Back in 2014 the Prime Minister became the first G20 leader to speak out publicly about the magnitude of the threat.
He asked the Treasury minister and economist Lord O'Neill to come up with potential solutions to the growing global problem of drug-resistant infections.
Hi review estimated that antimicrobial resistance would become the world’s greatest killer by 2050 unless a new generation of effective antibiotics are developed.
The UK has implemented two of Lord O'Neill’s initial recommendations, including increasing Government funding for early stage research, ahead of his full report published next month.