Here are selected highlights of recent ReAct news and opinions, our policy briefs, fact sheets and published journal articles on a broad set of topics relevant for global and national debates on how to tackle antibiotic resistance.
Further down you can find more ReAct materials. You can also sign up to our newsletter.
Opinion
The increasing resistance to antibiotics and lack of antibiotics with new mechanisms of action against Gram-negative bacteria has caused the revival of old, formerly abandoned, drugs as last options. The first ones to regain popularity were the polymyxins, colistin and polymyxin B. Developed in the 1950s, the polymyxins fell out of favor due to toxic adverse effects such as kidney damage and affecting the nervous system. Current, more pure, formulations coupled with better understanding of their pharmacology have made the adverse reactions more rare and manageable.
News
Along with the recommendations on antibiotics, the WHO Expert Committee on the Selection of Essential Medicines urged that an Essential Diagnostics List (EDL) be developed. Like the Essential Medicines List, the EDL would provide evidence-based guidance to countries to create their own national lists of essential diagnostic tests and tools.
Opinion
Life on Earth is arranged in ecosystems where all species are dependent on each other in intricate networks. We humans are also part of ecosystems, but we also harbour one in ourselves, an ecosystem of microbes called the human microbiome.
It is time to stop thinking about bacteria only as something bad that need to be exterminated and start thinking about ecology. We also need to develop new anti-infective therapies that do not also kill our microbiome when they kill the pathogenic microbes that make us sick.
News
To learn more about our microbiome, read the new ReAct factsheet on the topic: “All You Wanted to Know About Microbes But Were Afraid to Ask… The Human Microbiome”.
News
On 12-16 June, together with partners and allies, ReAct Latin America is arranging a large conference in Rosario, Argentina titled Mother Nature, One Health. The conference boasts over 60 presenters and participants attending from more than 10 countries, many of which are from South America.
Opinion
National Action Plans are an essential component of the global strategies to address antibiotic resistance. At the country level, ReAct supports the development of National Action Plans together with partners from WHO, FAO, OIE and civil society organizations.
News
This week Professor Otto Cars, founder of ReAct – Action on Antibiotic Resistance, was formally nominated to the United Nations (UN) ad-hoc Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (ICG-AMR) by the United Nations Secretary General.
Policy brief
This paper examines how a number of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are impacted by antimicrobial resistance and suggests how to integrate the issue better into ongoing international policy processes using SDGs as an entry point.
Policy brief
The Antibiotic Resistance Coalition, a cross-sectoral coalition of 25 organizations which ReAct North America coordinates, has developed a comprehensive set of principles which guides the work and policy positions on antibiotic resistance.
Fact sheets
ReAct held a series of briefings at the UNICEF’s headquarters in New York, USA, on the connection between antibiotic resistance and some of the major topics the organization covers such as health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
Journal article
The world has a collective responsibility to preserve antibiotic effectiveness and access for all. This paper lays down policy implications and global governance tools necessary to addressed to resolve access vs. excess dilemma.
Journal article
This paper co-authored by ReAct points out the critical need to scale-up funding for low-and middle-income countries to support antimicrobial conservation and proposes a formation of the fund coordinating such support.
Our newsletter features newly published research from around the world, contemporary policy and news from ReAct. The newsletter is published twice per month. You can also access older newsletters here.
Welcome to sign up!
Overview of all news and opinion pieces from ReAct.
More policy briefs and position papers from ReAct.
More scientific articles recently written by ReAct colleagues.
A selection of educational material developed by ReAct about antibiotic resistance.
More fact sheets developed by ReAct on relevant topics for antibiotic resistance.
A selection of ReAct produced reports.