News
ReAct – Action on Antibiotic Resistance is a global network working to catalyze global, national and local action on antibiotic resistance. Founded in 2005, ReAct was one of the first actors to articulate the complex nature of antibiotic resistance and its drivers, and to promote a holistic approach to engaging all of society in tackling this global health threat. ReAct is now looking for a visionary and experienced director to lead the work of the ReAct Asia Pacific node.
News
Today June 30 marks the last day of the Swedish Presidency of the European Council where antibiotic resistance was successfully lifted to the top of the health policy agenda. ReAct looks back at our efforts to place antibiotic resistance on the presidency agenda and what was achieved over the last six months.
Event
oin ReAct and Uppsala Antibiotic Center seminar during Almedalen Week in Sweden!
This collaborative seminar is a conversation focusing on how the Swedish experiences with the STRAMA programme may be useful inspiration for other countries who wish to improve stewardship of antibiotics in the human health sector – as well as what Sweden can learn from others. The seminar will also focus on obstacles low- and middle-income countries may face in adapting and implementing similar programmes in their contexts and what can be done to overcome such obstacles.
Event
22 June, ReAct Latin America invites you and members of your organization to an exciting online event on “Art, Microbes and Planetary Health” to mark World Microbiome Day 27 June.
News
Today at the EPSCO meeting in Brussels, the European Council adopted new Council Recommendations on AMR. The level of ambition and the swift adoption of these recommendations are a testament to the determination of the Swedish Presidency of the Council to make AMR a central political priority during these last 6 months.
News
On 9–10th of May, ReAct in collaboration with Uppsala University hosted a well-attended dialogue meeting with the title “The Global Need for Effective Antibiotics – Unlocking Barriers for Collective Action”. Within the framework of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, the meeting gathered experts from more than 20 countries including representatives from Asia, Africa, and Latin America to discuss concrete ways to achieve stronger global actions on antibiotic resistance.
News
Given the potential of civil society organizations to support activities to mitigate antimicrobial resistance and their ability to influence policies on important issues, ReAct Asia Pacific and World Animal Protection India hosted a workshop on antimicrobial resistance and community engagement. This to sensitize different civil society organizations working on broader health issues and issues close to antimicrobial resistance. The meeting identified 10 possible strategies civil society organizations could take up to mitigate antimicrobial resistance.
News
On April 15-18 the 33rd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) took place in Copenhagen (Denmark). The congress counted over 15,000 registrations in a hybrid format, more than 150 sessions, and representatives of 146 countries.
ReAct’s Andrea Caputo Svensson, Global Health Advisor and Maria Pränting, Scientific Coordinator attended the full program and shares three highlights.
News
Policy
The European Commission finally presented their proposal for revising all EU pharmaceuticals legislation after months of delay. The proposal seeks to improve access to medicines in a number of ways including by introducing a new incentive to support the development of new antibiotics. However, the ‘transferable exclusivity voucher’(TEV) builds on a deep-rooted misconception that big pharmaceutical companies are indispensable for the development of new antibiotics.
News
Professor Rianto Setiabudy, a clinical pharmacology specialist and professor from the School of Medicines at Universitas Indonesia shares his personal story as a patient suffering from a resistant bacterial infection.
News
On April 2, around 300 people of all ages cycled 14 kilometers along the bicycle paths adjacent to the main rivers in the south of the city of Cuenca, Ecuador, for World Tuberculosis Day.
News
On 9–10 May, a forum will be held in Uppsala on the topic of antibiotic resistance within the framework of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU. The meeting will be hosted by Uppsala University and ReAct. The discussion will focus on unlocking barriers for collective action on antibiotic resistance.
New publication
In an article published in the latest Symposium Issue of the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics “Antimicrobial Resistance Must Be Included in the Pandemic Instrument to Ensure Future Global Pandemic Readiness”, ReAct calls for securing equitable and sustainable access to effective antibiotics and other countermeasures to be a key consideration in the upcoming pandemic instrument.
News
Antibiotic resistance is one of the most urgent public health threats. Experts and policymakers are agreeing that there is far too little done to initiate the necessary systems changes needed to address this global challenge. As a step forward, the Asia Europe Foundation in collaboration with the Japanese Minister of foreign affairs and the AMR Clinical Reference Center arranged the high-level conference “Universal health coverage in an era of antimicrobial resistance and pandemics”.
Release
End 2022, ReAct Europe initiated the project REMAAP (Revisiting Effective Models to Advance the Antibiotic Pipeline) to find ways how to best reinvigorate the antibiotic pipeline with a public health interest in focus. Now the REMAAP initiative is publishing a new Expert Policy Brief: Identifying key bottlenecks in the early stages of antibiotic R&D and exploring public and not-for-profit solutions. In this article you find the brief and five takeaways from a two-day expert workshop held 7-8 November 2022, including suggested ways forward.
Opinion editorial
Almost 1.3 million people die every year due to antibiotic resistance. The Swedish EU Presidency has highlighted the problem but more needs to be done, says ReAct – Action on Antibiotic Resistance and Médecins Sans Frontières Sweden in opinion editorial published in the Swedish magazine Omvärlden.
News
On the 6-7 March, the Swedish EU presidency hosted a high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Stockholm. Experts and policymakers from the European commission and the EU’s member states discussed the challenge in antibiotic research and development and how the EU can support global efforts to address AMR more effectively.
Release
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently released a new report on the environmental dimensions of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) highlighting how the misuse and overuse of antibiotics in humans, animals, and agriculture can contribute to the spread of drug-resistant infections. This, in turn, can cause severe consequences for public health, food security, and ecosystems. Anthony So, Director ReAct Strategic Policy Program, is one of five lead authors of the report.
News
Imagine a society where everyone plays their part to safeguard antibiotics. And not just where they are directly being used – such as in health care settings – but also in schools, wastewater treatment facilities and child care centers across the country. This is the goal of the nation-wide initiative Antibiotic Smart Sweden. ReAct Europe is one of the collaborating organizations.
News
ReAct welcomes new members to the ReAct Toolbox Advisory Group. The advisory group is composed of renowned experts from the antibiotic resistance field and provides strategic and scientific advice to help keep the ReAct Toolbox up to date and relevant.
Article
On February 9th a new article was published in The Lancet co-authored by ReAct Europe’s Otto Cars and Kerstin Åkerfeldt called “Transferable exclusivity voucher: a flawed incentive to stimulate antibiotic innovation”.
Article
The Lancet article titled “An analysis of existing national action plans for antimicrobial resistance – gaps and opportunities in strategies optimising antibiotic use in human populations” examines the existing National Action Plans on Antimicrobial Resistance and identifies gaps and opportunities for improving strategies to optimize antibiotic use in human populations. Dr. Mirfin Mpundu, ReAct Africa, contributed to the article as one of the co-authors.
Interview
Early 2022, Malin Grape was appointed by the Swedish Government as Sweden’s, and the world’s, first AMR Ambassador – to further strengthen global efforts against antimicrobial resistance. ReAct had the opportunity to talk to her about her role one year after her appointment and about antimicrobial resistance and the current Swedish EU Presidency.
News
Dr. Jaya Ranjalkar is the new Interim Director for ReAct Asia Pacific. She joined ReAct in 2017 as a Senior Research Officer. Dr. Ranjalkar is a medical doctor and has worked in various public health related projects before joining ReAct.
News
At the end of 2022, ReAct Latin America and partners produced a creative theatrical performance – Dancing with bacteria. The production used traditional music together with modern dance to raise awareness about antibiotic resistance.
Science
End last year a new comprehensive study that analyses sewage samples from 234 cities in 101 countries was published. The study highlights the potential of a sewage-based global monitoring system. ReAct reached out to Professor Frank Aarestrup, co-conceiver and co-writer of the study, to learn more about the project and to hear his thoughts on monitoring and surveillance.