Whether it is a doctor treating a patient for pneumonia, or a farmer administering antibiotics to pigs in an attempt to keep various diseases at bay, antibiotics are widely used and taken for granted in many sectors nowadays. This has not always been the case, and this will not be the case in the future if the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is not curbed.

 The escalating and significant increase in the use of antibiotics has led to a global and growing challenge, in the form of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and microbes in many different areas. If the right policy decisions are not made today, the consequences may be grave in the decades to come. As many as one million people may die each year as a result of antibiotic resistance and the number is growing. The latest calculations show that if the current situation is allowed to continue unchecked, it will lead to a humanitarian and economic disaster. Some forecasts predict that by 2050, multi-resistant bacteria and microbes will kill up to 10 million people worldwide each year.

 The report 12 initiatives, Nordic co-operation on combating antimicrobial resistance, is a white paper adopted by the Nordic Council. It is developed on the basis of hearing “You don’t die from pneumonia, do you...?”, which took place on 6 December 2016 in the Parliament in Copenhagen, at the request of the Danish Presidency of the Nordic Council Presidium and the President of the Council, Henrik Dam Kristensen. Experts from all five Nordic countries and the appropriate academic environments attended. The report describes at strategy with 7 overall objectives that can be implemented through 12 well-founded tangible initiatives. The initiatives can be efficiently implemented through Nordic cooperation. The Nordic Council has declared its support for the initiatives and recommends the Nordic Council of Ministers to prepare and initiate the implementation.