Global health experts convened at the Vatican to address a looming health emergency: antimicrobial resistance, or AMR. The symposium, hosted by the Global Coalition on Aging and the Acton Institute at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, aimed to shine a light on the crisis and mobilize action.
Michael W. Hodin is the Founder and CEO of the Global Coalition on Aging. He noted, “This antimicrobial resistance has become a huge crisis for the world. We are about to have a world without antibiotics, pre-1950s, if we don’t do several things about it."
The event underscored the critical role antibiotics play in modern medicine. Without them, routine surgeries, cancer treatments, and organ transplants could become life-threatening.
Hodin further stated, "Antibiotics are really one of the foundations of modern medicine. And if we lose antibiotics much that we have in the medical scientific complex is under threat.
Hosting the event at the Vatican was seen as an ideal place to amplify the urgency of this issue taking in consideration the Vatican’s global moral influence.
The conference concluded with a call to action, urging governments, faith communities, and the public to work together to prevent a return to the dark ages of medicine.
"The Church of course broadly constructed has represented very important messages connecting ethics and morality to healthy societies,” emphasized Hodin.
Hodin also highlighted the economic and societal stakes, especially as the world faces unprecedented aging populations and declining birth rates.
As the AMR crisis grows, global cooperation remains essential to safeguard public health and the foundations of modern medicine.
Adapted by Jacob Stein
Alexey Gotovskiy serves as a journalist, producer, and manager at the EWTN Vatican Bureau. Born in the former Soviet Union, he holds a graduate degree in Church Communications from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and has produced over 200 episodes of EWTN "Vaticano," covering the life of the Universal Church.
