The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued its "urgent health challenges for the next decade" list.

Included on it is "stopping infectious diseases" and "protecting the medicines that protect us," which focuses on anti-microbial resistance.

Concerning infectious diseases, WHO states, "Infectious diseases like HIV, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, malaria, neglected tropical diseases and sexually-transmitted infections will kill an estimated 4 million people in 2020, most of them poor. Meanwhile, vaccine-preventable diseases continue to kill, such as measles, which took 140,000 lives in 2019, many of them children. Although polio has been driven to the brink of eradication, there were 156 cases of wild poliovirus last year, the most since 2014."

Concerning anti-microbial resistance, WHO states, "Anti-microbial resistance threatens to send modern medicine back decades to the pre-antibiotic era, when even routine surgeries were hazardous. The rise of anti-microbial resistance stems from myriad factors that have come together to create a terrifying brew, including unregulated prescription and use of antibiotics, lack of access to quality and affordable medicines, and lack of clean water, sanitation, hygiene and infection prevention and control."

Other issues on the WHO list include "preparing for epidemics;" "keeping healthcare clean," which focuses on water sanitation and hygiene; and "investing in the people who defend our health," which shines a light on health worker shortages.

In its discussion about each health challenge, WHO summarizes the efforts it is undertaking to combat the issue.