"When the first antibiotics were introduced in the 1940s, they were hailed as "wonder drugs", the miracles of modern medicine. And rightly so. Widespread infections that killed many millions of people every year could now be cured. Major diseases, like syphilis, gonorrhoea, leprosy, and tuberculosis, lost much of their sting. The risk of death from something so common as strep throat or a child's scratched knee virtually vanished.
The powerful impact of these medicines sparked a revolution in the discovery of new drugs. The human condition took a dramatic turn for the better, with significant jumps in life expectancy.
The message on this World Health Day is loud and clear. The world is on the brink of losing these miracle cures."
Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General