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The story of ReAct started 15 years ago with a small group of people, many who are still with the network today. They all shared a passion for global health, and felt the urgency to address the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. The network has since grown, with the presence of offices in 5 continents and many passionate members working together. Klick to learn more.
THEME - LANCET ARTICLE
Lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic can help mobilize urgent global action to address the silent pandemic of antibiotic resistance affecting countries throughout the world. Antibiotics are critical components of all health systems. In an article published online in The Lancet Global Health June 15, 2021, 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.
Dr. Jaya Ranjalkar is a Senior Research Officer at the ReAct Asia Pacific node at C.M.C Vellore in India. She has been working for ReAct the last four years. She likes that her work for ReAct is meaningful.
Julian Nyamupachitu works as a Program Office for ReAct Africa and is placed in Zambia. She joined ReAct in 2018. At ReAct she especially enjoys the value of sharing best practices and collaborating across the globe.
Prateek Sharma is Research Associate at ReAct Strategic Policy Program hosted by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore, USA. He says it was the capacity-building workshop for Innovate4AMR finalists that changed his career trajectory.
Maria Pränting is Scientific Coordinator at ReAct Europe hosted by Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. At ReAct I get to combine several things that I feel passionate about – I get to contribute with my expertise in antibiotic resistance and work with science communication.
In ReAct’s series of celebrating ReAct 15 years we decided to talk to our staff across the globe. Juan Carlos López works as a Regional Communication Coordinator at ReAct Latin America node which is hosted by the Child to Child Foundation in Cuenca, Equador. He has been working for ReAct the last four years and says he wanted to work in science communication since he was a university student.
THEME
The rapid spread of antibiotic resistance around the world has evoked calls at the highest levels of the United Nations and its member governments to urgently adopt measures to tackle the growing problem. While these and other global and national policy initiatives are highly welcome and much needed, the world cannot afford to solely wait for them to be translated into action and change on the ground.
The top-down approach needs to be complemented with action and mobilization on grass-root level since the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance is tightly linked to the practices and behaviors of individuals.
THEME
Effective antibiotics are a cornerstone of basic and specialized medicine. The emergence of resistance in bacteria to antibiotics is slowly dismantling our ability to treat infections, alleviate human suffering, and save lives. The COVID-19 pandemic is a clear reminder of the deadly consequences the world faces, when we do not have the right treatments or vaccines available when needed.
THEME
Antibiotic resistance is one of the most pressing public health problems of our time. It causes hundreds of thousands of deaths each year, affects many people’s livelihoods and is threatening to undo the advances of modern medicine. Without effective antibiotics, it would for example be too risky to conduct organ transplants, routine surgical procedures and cancer chemotherapy. Global development would also be severely affected.
SUMMIT
10-12 November The Latin American Summit “Empowered Communities against Antimicrobial Resistance in the context of COVID-19”, will be organized by ReAct Latin America together with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Florida International University Health Consortium. 3 November a pre-summit day is arranged. During the 4-day summit the main theme is the role of the community when implementing and sustaining National Action Plans on AMR. The discussions will be held under the One Health umbrella – the relationship between human health, animal health and health of ecosystems. The summit will be translated into English (live).
Summit
The Latin American Meeting “Empowered Communities facing antimicrobial resistance in the context of COVID-19”, organized by ReAct Latin America, the Pan American Health Organization and Florida International University, was held from 10 to 12 November. This Meeting analyzed the role of the community and its diverse forms of organization and wisdom in facing the pandemic. And how those actions can be taken as examples for addressing antimicrobial resistance, in particular antibiotics. Here are a few lessons learned from the meeting days, we also look into future approaches that might be of interest.
REPORT
Global consumption of antibiotics continues to increase. In response, bacteria have developed resistance and are spreading as a silent but steady pandemic threatening to devastate healthcare and modern medicine as we know it.
The ReAct report “How to address the global crisis in antibiotic Research and Development” includes a comprehensive summary and critical evaluation of recent initiatives to overcome the barriers to achieve sustainable access to antibiotics.
WEBINAR
ReAct Europe organized an ‘Expert Conversation’ event to mark the launch of their new report “Ensuring sustainable access to effective antibiotics for everyone, everywhere – How to address the crisis in antibiotic research and development” on the 14th of April.