At least 750,000 deaths each year caused by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) could be avoided with better hygiene, clean water and antibiotics, research published in the Lancet has shown.
Each year, an estimated 7.7 million deaths globally are caused by bacterial infections, making them the second largest cause of death globally.
Out of these bacterial infection deaths, almost five million are associated with drug resistance.
Experts have warned that if the world does not prioritise action on drug-resistance bacteria then deaths will increase.
Young infants, elderly people and people with chronic illnesses or requiring surgical procedures are at the highest risk of dying.
“Effective antibiotics prolong lives, reduce disabilities, limit healthcare costs and enable other life-saving medical actions such as surgery,” series co-author, Iruka Okeke of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, said.
“However, antimicrobial resistance is on the rise – accelerated by inappropriate use of antibiotics during the Covid-19 pandemic – threatening the backbone of modern medicine and already leading to deaths and disease which would have once been prevented.”
Models in the latest publication estimates existing infection prevention methods could prevent 750,000 deaths associated with AMR infections a year.
The study says improving infection prevention and control in healthcare facilities, including better hand hygiene and more regular cleaning and sterilisation of equipment, could save up to 337,000 lives a year.
Universal access to safe drinking water and effective sanitation in community settings could also prevent about 247,800 deaths annually.
Vaccines that help protect against pneumonia and meningitis, and introducing new ones, such as RSV vaccines for pregnant mothers, could save 181,500 lives a year.
Reducing the use antibiotics in cases where they are not needed could also slow bacteria's ability develop resistance, however there is a lack of research in this area.
The study also called for global targets called “10-20-30 by 2030” goals.
These goals want a 10 per cent reduction in mortality from AMR relative to 2019, a 20 per cent reduction in inappropriate human antibiotic use and a 30 per cent reduction in inappropriate animal antibiotic use.
“Our findings highlight how public health actions to prevent infections in the first place should be prioritised as a strategy to tackle AMR as these methods have the potential to drastically reduce the number of deaths from AMR-associated infections,” said co-author Yewande Alimi of Africa CDC.
“If we can focus on improving infection control methods, water and sanitation and vaccination in LMICs [low- and middle-income countries] then it should be possible to reduce the number of deaths linked with AMR by 10 per cent by 2030.”
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An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
