On May 1, 2024, Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Team endorsed the policy recommendation “Call for Actionable Steps in Response to the Rising Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).”

Ahead of the UN High-Level Meeting on AMR in September 2024, this recommendation requests the UN members to agree with actionable and measurable steps based on the One Health Approach that considers the interdependence of human health, animal health and environment. The recommendation also highlights the following ten priorities to tackle with AMR.

This recommendation was developed by the AMR Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform, in which HGPI participates, co-hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

1. Enhance One Health collaboration on AMR through effective cross-sectoral, transparent, inclusive, multilateral, multidisciplinary, multi-stakeholder coordination, communication and follow-through.
2. Accelerate the implementation of AMR National Action Plans (NAPs), building on country context, capacity and capabilities.
3. Strengthen capacity for AMR efforts by mobilizing sustainable financing for research, infrastructure and AMR NAPs implementation.
4. Strengthen health systems through comprehensive primary and secondary prevention strategies, such as infection prevention and control (IPC), stewardship programmes, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), vaccination, early diagnosis and prompt treatment and environmental management of air, water, soil, food and vectors for better human, animal and environmental health.
5. Better leverage preventive measures such as vaccination by expanding the evidence base on their impact against AMR, developing mechanisms to increase access and utilization of existing vaccines, improving regulatory pathways, facilitating market authorization and distributing products across sectors and countries.
6. Strengthen sector-specific AMR and antimicrobial use (AMU) surveillance, building towards integrated surveillance for evidence-based action to reduce the risk and impact of AMR.
7. Transform agrifood systems to significantly reduce AMU while optimizing animal health and welfare.
8. Ensure universal, equitable, affordable and sustainable access, including in rural areas, to quality essential medicines, vaccines and diagnostics for humans and animals.
9. Encourage high-income countries and other stakeholders to commit to taking an end-to-end approach to sustainable antimicrobial research and development (R&D), including by increasing public investment in push and pull incentives to catalyse the global R&D efforts necessary to deliver new treatments and tools that target global priority pathogens.
10. Prevent and address the drivers, sources and challenges of the environmental dimensions of AMR.

 

The AMR Team also provided feedback in finalizing the content of this recommendation.
To read the original recommendation, please click here.