Science Academies Focus On Global Challenges

World leaders at this month’s G-8 Summit need to focus on science’s role in sustainability and in combatting drug-resistant infections, according to a joint statement from the national science academies of 13 countries and the African Academy of Sciences. The advice came in two “G-Science” statements that the academies issued to help guide government leaders at the G-8 Summit and future meetings. The sustainability statement points out how science can address the challenges of changing demographics, urbanization, food and water security, energy efficiency, and other problems caused by the increasing human population. The statement on drug-resistant infections lays out six recommendations on how the global community can better combat the contagions, including improved surveillance and more responsible use of currently available antibiotics. It especially focuses on drug-resistant tuberculosis and hospital-associated infections by enterobacteria. The countries whose science academies signed the statements are Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Russia, South Africa, the U.K., and the U.S.