Saudi Arabia’s journey to combat AMR began in 2017 with the establishment of the National Committee, based on the WHO Global Action Plan.
In April 2018, the Ministry of Health implemented a pivotal policy: a nationwide ban on dispensing antibiotics without a prescription, backed by strict penalties for violations.
This single policy led to a remarkable decline—nearly 30 percent—in national antibiotic consumption in the years that followed.
Since then, the Public Health Authority (Weqaya) has led the Kingdom’s AMR efforts, launching the updated national plan for 2020–2025, solidifying its role as a leading national reference in this domain.
In November 2024, Jeddah became a global center of discussion on the “silent pandemic,” as Saudi Arabia hosted the 4th Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance—one of the world’s most important gatherings on the future of public health.
The conference brought together ministers of health, agriculture, and environment from dozens of countries, alongside major organizations including WHO. The event underscored the understanding that AMR is no longer just a medical issue—it is an existential threat spanning humans, animals, and the environment.
At the conference, Saudi Arabia and several nations endorsed the “Jeddah Commitments,” a set of initiatives rooted in the One Health approach—linking human, animal, and environmental health within a unified surveillance and response framework. This approach acknowledges that infections know no borders and that farms, hospitals, and communities form one interconnected ecosystem.
The conference also called for strengthening research and innovation, developing rapid diagnostics, producing new antibiotics, and investing in community awareness and responsible antibiotic stewardship.
Scientific sessions presented stark figures: in some countries, more than 50 percent of antibiotics are dispensed without prescriptions, and many are used as growth promoters in livestock—creating ideal conditions for the rise of “superbugs.” Experts warned that failure to act could lead to a global health crisis surpassing modern pandemics, undermining trust in contemporary medicine itself.
National experience demonstrates that antimicrobial stewardship programs, led by frontline healthcare practitioners inside hospitals, have a tangible impact on the rational use of antibiotics. This translates into a clear decline in resistance rates and a reduced need to resort to powerful last-line drugs such as colistin.
Peer-reviewed evidence further shows that these programs drive a marked drop in the use of high-risk antibiotics, accompanied by a significant reduction in the resistance patterns associated with them.
These results offer a powerful reminder: with the right practices, the trajectory of resistance can be slowed—or even reversed.
Still, challenges remain. Resistant bacteria continue to spread widely in hospitals and communities, requiring vigilant control measures to protect the progress achieved so far.
