Global leaders gathered here at the U.N. headquarters on Wednesday for a high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance, with multiple leaders speaking out about the growing threat of infections that no longer respond to the drugs used to treat them.

The meeting was part of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA). It’s only the fourth time in history that the heads of state have met to discuss a health issue, but the urgency of the current crisis of drug-resistant bacteria is clear: it’s estimated that the number of people who die from antibiotic resistance infections will reach 10 million a year in 2050.

“It’s not that it may happen in the future, it’s a very present reality,” said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He added that over 20,000 newborn children are expected to die each year from infections that do not respond to antibiotics. Resistance to HIV drugs is also on the rise, and leaders are concerned about the potential for malaria-drug resistance.

Antimicrobial resistance, often referred to as AMR, “is a major global threat. Some scientists call it a slow-motion tsunami. The situation is bad and getting worse,” said Dr. Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO). Chan says sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea are becoming increasingly resistant to treatment.

Leaders from Thailand, Belgium, Guyana, Switzerland, Zimbabwe and more spoke about the need for action that targets a variety of sectors including medicine, agriculture and drug and diagnostic developers. Chan underlined the lack of drug development and discovery by the pharmaceutical industry — which is not incentivized to develop said drugs because their margins are small.

As part of the meeting, leaders solidified their commitment to develop action plans for their countries. Whether those commitments will translate into tangible action is yet to be seen. Efforts may include bolstering surveillance systems that monitor drug-resistant infections as well as antibiotic use in medicine and farming. Nations can encourage the judicious use of antibiotic prescribing and urge antibiotics only be used in animals to treat infections. WHO’s Chan also called on the public to not demand antibiotics for ailments like colds, for which they are unnecessary.

Global health and agriculture groups like the WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization were called upon to collaborate on the issue with multiple stakeholders and report back on efforts at the U.N. General Assembly in 2018.

Get our Health Newsletter. Sign up to receive the latest health and science news, plus answers to wellness questions and expert tips. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Now Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.

Contact us at letters@time.com.