Globally coordinated governance needed

A call for global action

All WHO Member States adopted the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance in 2015 which identifies five areas of action needed to tackle antimicrobial resistance: improving awareness, increasing surveillance and monitoring, improve infection prevention, optimize the use of antimicrobials and develop new antibiotics, vaccines and diagnostics.

With the onset and fast pace of globalization, global governance helps address issues that affect all countries regardless of borders. Antibiotic resistance is one such threat to the security of people all over the world.

 

Globally Coordinated Governance

Globally coordinated governance on antimicrobial resistance ensures a sustainable response that takes into account the needs, challenges and priorities of low- and middle-income countries. Click to learn more.

News

Antibiotic resistance claims more than 1,2 million lives a year, says new large study

The most comprehensive data to date on the global burden of antibiotic resistance has been published in the Lancet. An estimated 1.27 million deaths were a direct result of antibiotic resistant bacterial infections in 2019. This points to the fact that world leaders must urgently speed up actions on multiple levels to mitigate the increasing consequences of this crisis.

Global governance

Systemwide response to antibiotic resistance requires effective and sustainable global governance

Causing 1.27 million deaths per year, antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest and most urgent cross-border public health threats of our time. However, the global community was late to the table to pick up on the systems failure of antibiotic resistance. Initiatives and collaborations have been initiated since 2015, but stronger globally coordinated governance is needed to drive systemwide response. There is still a long way to go. In this article, you get an overview of the global governance considerations for antibiotic resistance.

Pandemic treaty

Include antibiotic resistance into a pandemic treaty

On 29 November – 1 December, the 74th World Health Assembly (WHA74) gathers for a special session to consider developing a new WHO convention, agreement, or other international instrument on pandemic preparedness and response. Given many similarities in actions required a “pandemic treaty” may be a clear opportunity to ensure that antibiotic resistance – the silent ongoing pandemic – is also addressed.

Toolbox - A guide for policy makers

Global policies are often used in advocacy initiatives to remind countries of their global commitment to antimicrobial resistance and to hold governments accountable to track progress towards managing these commitments.

The ReAct Toolbox aims to assist you that are engaged in policy work – both in human and animal health – to help action on antimicrobial resistance.

Generating data for policy and practice

Knowledge is critical for good policy and practical work. In the Global Action Plan on AMR adopted by WHO in 2015, strategic objective 2 is to “Strengthen the knowledge and evidence base through surveillance and research”. But how can this be done in countries that lack funds and technical capacity?

Stefan Swartling Peterson, Unicef: strong health systems key to prevent infections and spread of antibiotic resistance

Stefan Swartling Peterson, Chief of Health at Unicef, sees strong health systems as key to prevent infections and spread of antibiotic resistance. “Strong health systems, where a midwife is able to wash her hands before she delivers you, but also where drugs and supplies are available and the health worker has been paid and supervised are key”, he says.Read interview where Professor Swartling Peterson elaborates on the access-excess relation to antibiotics, implementation research methods, strong health systems and future work of Unicef.

Meeting report - A planetary threat but a financing orphan

Meeting report – A planetary threat but a financing orphan
How should needed work on antimicrobial resistance be funded? Read meeting report from workshop with experts on antimicrobial resistance and global health. There is currently no ‘go-to-place’ for funding the implementation of National Action Plans on AMR and this is a serious concern.The report is prepared by ReAct and the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation. Read full report: Antimicrobial Resistance and sustainable development: A planetary threat but a financing orphan (PDF).

Dr. Revathi, Kenya on the WHO essential diagnostics list and what it means for Africa

In May of 2018, the WHO released the first-ever list of essential diagnostics to improve diagnosis and treatment outcomes to the delight of many champions of antimicrobial resistance across the globe. In Africa, the release of this list was particularly exciting to one doctor in Nairobi, Kenya, who has long been an advocate for the development of such a list.

7 ways penicillin has cured the world for 90 years

As we celebrate the 90th anniversary of the discovery of penicillin, it is appropriate to take a look at the current state of modern medicine since the discovery penicillin and the other antibiotics that followed. Here are seven ways that penicillin changed modern medicine.

Promoting rational use of antibiotics - the Thailand example

Dr. Nithima Sumpradi from the Thai Food and Drug Administration was one of the key researchers responsible for the Antibiotic Smart Use project in Thailand. Here she explains the program more in detail, what it has achieved and reflects over lessons learned in the process.