SWITZERLAND — Global leaders have reached a pivotal agreement during the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Switzerland, adopting a political declaration that outlines specific targets to combat AMR.
One of the key goals is to reduce the estimated 4.95 million annual deaths related to bacterial antimicrobial resistance by 10% by 2030.
This declaration also calls for substantial national financing and the allocation of US$100 million in catalytic funding, aiming to ensure that at least 60% of countries have funded national action plans to tackle AMR by 2030.
To achieve these ambitious goals, the declaration emphasizes the importance of diversifying funding sources and attracting more contributors to the Antimicrobial Resistance Multi-Partner Trust Fund.
The Quadripartite—a coalition formed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)—welcomed the declaration.
The Quadripartite applauded countries for recognizing the necessity of addressing AMR through a One Health approach, which acknowledges the interconnectedness of human, animal, plant, and environmental health.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, AMR survivors, civil society, and other global stakeholders were prominent participants in the meeting, further underscoring the urgency of the AMR crisis.
The challenge of AMR arises when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites develop resistance to medicines, rendering infections more difficult or impossible to treat. This increases the risk of disease transmission, severe illness, and death.
The declaration sets a bold target for human health, calling for at least 70% of antibiotics used globally to belong to the WHO Access group, a category of antibiotics with minimal side effects and a lower potential for causing resistance.
Additionally, the declaration includes infection prevention and control (IPC) goals, aiming for all countries to have basic water, sanitation, hygiene, and waste management services in health facilities, and for 90% of nations to meet WHO’s minimum IPC requirements by 2030.
Furthermore, the declaration prioritizes equitable access to antimicrobials and appropriate use across sectors, stressing the need for robust reporting of AMR data and antimicrobial use.
In agriculture and animal health, countries are committed to significantly reducing the use of antimicrobials in agri-food systems by 2030.
Preventative measures, such as improved animal vaccination strategies, biosecurity, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) standards, will play a critical role in achieving this.
On environmental issues, the declaration highlights the importance of preventing antimicrobial discharge into ecosystems and calls for more research on the environmental dimensions of AMR.
It encourages actions to address key sources of antimicrobial pollution, recognizing the complexity of the AMR problem and the need for a multisectoral response.
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu expressed the organization’s full support for the declaration, emphasizing the significance of universal access to medicines, diagnostics, and treatments, particularly in developing countries.
He highlighted the critical role of sustainable agrifood systems in ensuring food security and called for increased investment in research, innovation, and awareness initiatives to combat AMR.
UNEP’s Executive Director Inger Andersen pointed out the growing evidence linking environmental factors to the development and transmission of AMR, stressing that environmental solutions must be part of the global response.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus echoed the urgency, noting that AMR threatens to reverse a century of medical progress and remains one of the most critical health challenges of the time.
WOAH Director General Dr. Emmanuelle Soubeyran called for urgent action, especially in prioritizing preventive measures for animal health.
She assured that WOAH will continue supporting countries by developing guidelines and standards for antimicrobial use in animals.
The political declaration formally establishes the Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on AMR as the central mechanism to coordinate global responses to AMR.
It also mandates that the Global Action Plan (GAP) on AMR be updated by 2026 to ensure an inclusive, multisectoral, and One Health-oriented strategy.
Additionally, the declaration tasks the Quadripartite with reporting on the implementation of GAP and the outcomes of the political declaration, highlighting a coordinated, global effort in the fight against AMR.
It also acknowledges the critical contributions of global AMR governance mechanisms, including the Global Leaders Group and the AMR Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform, committing to strengthening the latter, among others.
This is necessary to facilitate the multisectoral exchange of experiences, best practices, and the assessment of Member States’ progress in implementing multisectoral national action plans on AMR.
The Quadripartite is pleased to take on the declaration’s request for it to establish an independent panel for evidence for action against AMR in 2025, after a global consultation with countries. The panel will support countries in efforts to tackle AMR.
The declaration emphasizes key aspects, including the importance of access to medicines, treatments and diagnostics, while calling for incentives and financing mechanisms to drive multisectoral health research, innovation and development in addressing AMR.
A stronger, transparent partnership between the public and private sectors, as well as academia is critical.
The declaration also encourages countries to report quality surveillance data on antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use by 2030.
This reporting will involve utilizing existing global systems such as the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS), the Global Database for Antimicrobial Use in Animals (ANIMUSE) of WOAH, and the International FAO Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring (InFARM).
It further calls for 95% of countries to annually report on the implementation of their AMR national action plans through the Tracking AMR Country Self-assessment Survey (TrACSS).
Sign up to receive our email newsletters with the latest news updates and insights from Africa and the World HERE
