The silence is killing us – time to listen to the facts

More and more antibiotics are failing and resistance is spreading around the world. The situation is worst in low-income countries, a new report shows. The situation is acute – but not hopeless. Learn more from MSF work and professor Otto Cars, ReAct.

Health system approach

Resetting the agenda for antibiotic resistance through a health systems perspective

COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic – the next one is already here: antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics are critical components of all health systems.

In an article published in The Lancet Global Health, authors from the senior leadership of ReAct, argue that a health system approach nationally and globally is critical to mitigate the devastating consequences of antibiotic resistance.

Research and development

5 challenges that governments need to address in resolving the stagnation in antibiotic development

We are now well into a third decade of failure and standstill in developing new antibiotics. The traditional market-based financing model for research and development of new antibiotics continues to fail. There are five challenges governments need to address to resolve the stagnation in antibiotic development.

Community engagement

ReAct Asia Pacific: Antibiotic Smart Communities as a way forward

Can there be such a thing as an antibiotic smart community? If so, how could processes towards this be initiated and systematically approached? These questions, and an urging feeling that to be able to implement the National Action Plans on Antimicrobial Resistance there is a need for a bottom-up engagement approach. Communities need to engage for action on the global health challenge we all are facing – drug-resistant bacteria. With this mindset, ReAct Asia Pacific initiated the project Antibiotic Smart Communities.

News

7.7 million people die from bacterial infections every year

For the first time, global comprehensive estimates of the burden of bacterial infections have been published. In 2019, 7.7 million deaths around the world were found to be linked to bacterial infections. That equals 1 in 8 of all global deaths. It also makes bacterial infections the second largest cause of death globally, after ischemic heart disease only. Bacterial infections have long been an underestimated cause of global health burden, calling for urgent strengthening of mitigation strategies. The study puts in spotlight the crucial importance of access to treatment with effective antibiotics for all health systems.

Interview

Sweden: Pernilla’s 8-day old daughter died from sepsis – caused by resistant bacteria Klebsiella

When Pernilla Rönnholm from Gothenburg, Sweden, gave birth to her twins Kirsty and Freya, only one of the girls survived. Kirsty died 8 days old from multi-drug resistant bacteria. Listen to the family’s story in an interview with the mother, Pernilla.

Theme

COVID-19 and antibiotic resistance

ReAct articles relating to COVID-19 and antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotic resistance

In the last 70 years the use of antibiotics has been crucial in improving countless lives and drastically reducing deaths caused by bacterial infections. The increasing development of antibiotic resistance is posing a serious threat to human health and development, the environment and for animal health. Learn more about antibiotic resistance here.

The ReAct Toolbox

The ReAct Toolbox is a user-friendly web-based resource that provides inspiration and guidance to take action and develop national action plans on antibiotic resistance. It is built on what has been done in the past in a variety of settings, and is aligned with ongoing and current initiatives from across the globe.