{"id":5964,"date":"2025-11-20T16:55:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T14:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swazidailynews.com\/?p=5964"},"modified":"2025-11-20T16:55:03","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T14:55:03","slug":"act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Act Now\u2019 &#8211; PM calls for national unity as antibiotic resistance surges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By Siphesihle Dlamini <br \/><br \/>Eswatini has been placed on high alert following a stark warning from Prime Minister Russell Dlamini.<\/p>\n<p>The premier has revealed that the country\u2019s common bacterial infections are becoming worryingly resistant to treatment, signalling what he described as one of the most pressing threats to national health and economic development.<\/p>\n<p>The Prime Minister, speaking ahead of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week scheduled for 18\u201324 November, chose a direct and sobering opening: across the globe, he said, bacteria are mutating faster than the medicines designed to stop them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAcross the world, bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to the medicines, often called antibiotics, that are designed to kill or treat them,\u201d he warned, calling antimicrobial resistance, AMR, \u201cone of the greatest challenges to health and economic development in our time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that the world has already paid a devastating price. In 2019 alone, AMR was linked to nearly 5 million deaths globally, a figure that the PM described indirectly as a chilling reminder that unchecked resistance holds real, life-ending consequences.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5969\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5969\" style=\"width: 1231px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-5969\" src=\"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PAGE-3-Prime-Minister-Russell-Dlamini-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1231\" height=\"923\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5969\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Prime Minister Russell Dlamini<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bringing the crisis closer to home, the Prime Minister unveiled the country\u2019s latest AMR surveillance results, and the numbers painted an alarming picture.<\/p>\n<p>According to Eswatini\u2019s 2024 AMR national data, the resistance rate among common pathogens to widely used antibiotics has now reached 79 per cent, a figure he described as \u201cdeeply concerning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201d The PM noted that this represents a 5 per cent increase from the previous year, signalling not only a worsening crisis but a rapidly accelerating one.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis troubling rise means that infections once easily treatable are becoming more difficult, more costly, and in some cases impossible to cure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Health experts say such resistance rates threaten to undo decades of medical progress and could lead to a future where routine infections become fatal.<\/p>\n<p>The PM\u2019s statement indirectly suggested that if current trends persist, the nation could face rising hospitalisation costs, longer recovery times, and treatment failures that strain an already burdened health system.<\/p>\n<p>The Prime Minister positioned Eswatini within a broader international mandate to curb AMR. He reminded the public that world leaders have agreed to bold targets,<\/p>\n<p>including reducing AMR-related deaths by 10% by 2030 and ensuring that at least 70% of antibiotics used in human health come from the WHO Access Group, a category of antibiotics considered safer and less likely to drive resistance.<\/p>\n<p>He further emphasised that stronger antibiotics, often classified under the \u201cWatch\u201d and \u201cReserve\u201d categories, will be tightly controlled moving forward. They will be \u201ccarefully limited\u2026 reserved only as a last resort for treating life-threatening infections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He indicated that Eswatini\u2019s own health system must adjust prescribing practices, hospital protocols, and community expectations to align with these global priorities.<\/p>\n<p>The PM stressed that Eswatini \u201cremains steadfast in its commitment to the global fight against AMR,\u201d positioning the country not as a passive observer but as a determined participant in the world\u2019s response.<\/p>\n<p>A key part of the Prime Minister\u2019s message was the unveiling of Eswatini\u2019s national AMR containment strategic plan, built under the One Health approach, a model that recognises the interconnectedness of human health, animal health, and the environment.<\/p>\n<p><strong><div class=\"_df_book df-lite\" id=\"5947\"  data-title=\"\" wpoptions=\"true\" thumbtype=\"\" ><\/div><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>He described this approach as uniting the ministries of health, agriculture, and natural resources \u201cto confront this challenge collectively.\u201d<br \/>The strategy focuses on:<br \/>\u2022 Raising public awareness<br \/>\u2022 Strengthening laboratory and surveillance capacity<br \/>\u2022 Promoting responsible use of antibiotics in humans, livestock, and the environment<br \/>\u2022 Translating scientific data into evidence-based policy<br \/>\u201cThese initiatives are not merely policies on paper,\u201d the PM stressed. Instead, he characterised them as \u201cdeliberate and transformative actions to protect the health of our people, preserve our food security, and safeguard the future of our beloved Kingdom.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Siphesihle Dlamini Eswatini has been placed on high alert following a stark warning from Prime Minister Russell&hellip;","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,24,25,26],"tags":[46,73,48,58],"class_list":["post-5964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","category-future","category-national","category-swaziland","tag-africa","tag-eswatini","tag-feature","tag-national","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Act Now\u2019 - PM calls for national unity as antibiotic resistance surges - Eswatini Daily News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Act Now\u2019 - PM calls for national unity as antibiotic resistance surges - Eswatini Daily News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Siphesihle Dlamini Eswatini has been placed on high alert following a stark warning from Prime Minister Russell&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Eswatini Daily News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-20T14:55:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Eswatini Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Eswatini Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/5964\\\/business\\\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/5964\\\/business\\\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Eswatini Daily News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a2e7ad908f0e6606cc49214ec19776de\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018Act Now\u2019 &#8211; PM calls for national unity as antibiotic resistance surges\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-20T14:55:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/5964\\\/business\\\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":630,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/5964\\\/business\\\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa\",\"Eswatini\",\"Feature\",\"National\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business\",\"Future\",\"National\",\"Swaziland\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/5964\\\/business\\\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/5964\\\/business\\\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/5964\\\/business\\\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u2018Act Now\u2019 - PM calls for national unity as antibiotic resistance surges - Eswatini Daily News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/5964\\\/business\\\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/5964\\\/business\\\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-20T14:55:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a2e7ad908f0e6606cc49214ec19776de\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/5964\\\/business\\\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/5964\\\/business\\\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/5964\\\/business\\\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/5964\\\/business\\\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018Act Now\u2019 &#8211; PM calls for national unity as antibiotic resistance surges\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/\",\"name\":\"Eswatini Daily News\",\"description\":\"EDN\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a2e7ad908f0e6606cc49214ec19776de\",\"name\":\"Eswatini Daily News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cd20c640fc2b77fae5560d5aa1f54a994fbb6bda894b89c7624c9793dc7790d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cd20c640fc2b77fae5560d5aa1f54a994fbb6bda894b89c7624c9793dc7790d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cd20c640fc2b77fae5560d5aa1f54a994fbb6bda894b89c7624c9793dc7790d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Eswatini Daily News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\\\/edn\\\/author\\\/adekunleo\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018Act Now\u2019 - PM calls for national unity as antibiotic resistance surges - Eswatini Daily News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Act Now\u2019 - PM calls for national unity as antibiotic resistance surges - Eswatini Daily News","og_description":"By Siphesihle Dlamini Eswatini has been placed on high alert following a stark warning from Prime Minister Russell&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/","og_site_name":"Eswatini Daily News","article_published_time":"2025-11-20T14:55:03+00:00","author":"Eswatini Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Eswatini Daily News","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/"},"author":{"name":"Eswatini Daily News","@id":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/#\/schema\/person\/a2e7ad908f0e6606cc49214ec19776de"},"headline":"\u2018Act Now\u2019 &#8211; PM calls for national unity as antibiotic resistance surges","datePublished":"2025-11-20T14:55:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/"},"wordCount":630,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","keywords":["Africa","Eswatini","Feature","National"],"articleSection":["Business","Future","National","Swaziland"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/","url":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/","name":"\u2018Act Now\u2019 - PM calls for national unity as antibiotic resistance surges - Eswatini Daily News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2025-11-20T14:55:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/#\/schema\/person\/a2e7ad908f0e6606cc49214ec19776de"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/5964\/business\/act-now-pm-calls-for-national-unity-as-antibiotic-resistance-surges\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018Act Now\u2019 &#8211; PM calls for national unity as antibiotic resistance surges"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/","name":"Eswatini Daily News","description":"EDN","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/#\/schema\/person\/a2e7ad908f0e6606cc49214ec19776de","name":"Eswatini Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd20c640fc2b77fae5560d5aa1f54a994fbb6bda894b89c7624c9793dc7790d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd20c640fc2b77fae5560d5aa1f54a994fbb6bda894b89c7624c9793dc7790d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd20c640fc2b77fae5560d5aa1f54a994fbb6bda894b89c7624c9793dc7790d7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Eswatini Daily News"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn"],"url":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/author\/adekunleo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5964\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/genesisekucalenimedia.com\/edn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}