The United Nations will hold a pivotal meeting to combat antibacterial resistance on Wednesday during its General Assembly session, in a move that some are calling a “wakeup call” in the war against deadly infections that kill thousands of people a year.

The meeting in New York, as part of the week-long General Assembly, will draw leaders from around the globe. It is the first high-level global meeting on antibiotic resistance and only the fourth time that the General Assembly has taken up a healthcare issue, with other meetings focusing on outbreaks such as Ebola.