News and Opinions  –  2020

ReAct Open Letter: 5 key points to One Health Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance

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2020-11-20

This week, the newly established One Health Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance is convening its first meeting. ReAct has sent an Open Letter to the co-chairs and members of the Global Leaders Group. The letter was sent to express ReAct’s views on the need of a renewed global leadership, systems thinking and sustainable financing, and calls on the Global Leaders Group to develop a clear roadmap on its priorities and goals to which it should hold itself accountable. Five key points from the ReAct Open Letter below.

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Photo: Helloquence, Unsplash.

The Political Declaration on AMR of the UN General Assembly in 2016 called for an ad hoc Interagency Coordination Group (IACG) to provide practical guidance for approaches needed to ensure sustained effective global action to address antimicrobial resistance. In its recommendations issued in April 2019, the IACG recommended the establishment of three new global governance mechanisms:

  • A One Health Global Leaders Group;
  • a multi-stakeholder partnership platform, and
  • an Independent Panel on Evidence.

Earlier this year, the UN Secretary General approved the Terms of Reference for the One Health Leaders Group and delegated the establishment of it to the Directors-General of the Tripartite organizations.

Today, the One Health Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance was launched by the United Nations Tripartite organizations World Health Organization (WHO), UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the International Organization on Animal Health (OIE).

ReAct Open Letter to co-chairs of the Global Leaders Group

ReAct has sent an open letter to the co-chairs of the Global Leaders Group. The letter was sent to express ReAct’s views on the need of a renewed global leadership, systems thinking and sustainable financing, and calls on the Global Leaders Group to develop a clear roadmap on its priorities and goals to which it should hold itself accountable.

Five key points from the ReAct Open Letter

  • There has been a slow progress to act on the commitments made in the Political Declaration adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2016. There is a need to elevate antimicrobial resistance to the highest level on the global health and development agenda.
  • The recommendations from the IACG should be a guiding platform for the work of the Global Leaders Group.
  • The success of global governance for AMR will depend on the swift creation and function of the two remaining mechanisms proposed by the IACG: the Independent Panel on Evidence, and the Partnership Platform.
  • There is a need for a systems thinking as antimicrobial resistance is jeopardizing the achievement of many of the Sustainable Development Goals.
  • We anticipate that the GLG will be important to secure political consensus among governments that can direct policy makers to address the challenge of AMR in a holistic manner across different sectors.

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