We know that one of the biggest causes of resistance is the importation of resistant infections through international travel. Therefore, even if our domestic achievements are unprecedented, it will be futile if we do not address this globally by taking urgent action on access to water, sanitation and hygiene in low-income countries.
And it's not just the devastating human costs that are reverberating around the world. A lack of basic water, hygiene and sanitation in healthcare facilities costs a group of seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa $8.4 billion a year, recent figures show. WaterAid research.
Meanwhile here in Britain, health care acquired infections is already costing the NHS at least £2.1 billion a year – a cost that will rise further as these infections become increasingly resistant to antibiotics, as well as putting additional pressure on our vital healthcare system.
The government's new five-year plan rightly points out that water, sanitation and hygiene must play a central role in tackling the AMR crisis. And yet, between the publication of Britain's first five-year plan published in January 2019, the onslaught of Covid-19, and now, Britain's annual bilateral ODA budget for water, sanitation and hygiene has reduced by about three percent. quarters (77 percent).
This sets aside a crucial solution for AMR and the basic human right for all and calls into question Britain's position as leaders in global health.
A generation-defining moment
We know there is cross-party support for action on water, sanitation and hygiene, with more than 50 MPs attending WaterAid meetings. World Water Day event in March 2024, where the charity launched its Vote Water campaign, calling on the next UK government to commit to allocating a minimum of 10 percent of our overseas development budget to water, sanitation and hygiene.
We also know that, ahead of this year's general election, there is overwhelming public support for foreign investment in clean water. A recent one YouGov study found that water was by some measure the public's most popular choice when asked about issues on which foreign aid should be spent, with more than half (53 percent) placing it in their top three issues.
Britain must rise to this generation-defining moment and urgently prioritize financing global access to water, sanitation and hygiene, especially in the run-up to the meeting of world leaders for the UN high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance in September.
Britain once led the world in public health and sanitation, from the introduction of the 1848 Public Health Act after cholera outbreaks to Florence Nightingale, who became a handwashing champion during the Crimean War and saved millions of lives.
With more lives at stake, Britain has another opportunity to lead the world in providing water, sanitation and hygiene for all and to help fight AMR for good – but only if these words are accompanied with concrete action and results.
History will judge harshly those who ignore the vital lessons of past global health crises.
- Tim Wainwright is CEO of WaterAid
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