Global leaders have approved a political declaration at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), committing to a clear set of targets and actions, including reducing the estimated 4.95 million human deaths associated with bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) annually by 10% by 2030.
The declaration also calls for sustainable national financing and US$100 million in catalytic funding, to help achieve a target of at least 60% of countries having funded national action plans on AMR by 2030. This goal is to be reached through, for example, diversifying funding sources and securing more contributors to the Antimicrobial Resistance Multi-Partner Trust Fund.
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), known as the Quadripartite, welcome the declaration. The Quadripartite applauds countries for recognising the need for global, regional and national efforts to address AMR through a ‘One Health approach, which recognises that the health of people, animals, plants and the wider environment, including ecosystems, are closely linked and interdependent.
Global champions involved with the meeting include Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, AMR survivors, civil society and stakeholder organisations from around the world.
On human health, the declaration sets a more ambitious target that at least 70% of antibiotics used for human health globally should belong to the WHO Access group antibiotics with relatively minimal side effects and lower potential to cause AMR.
It also includes targets around infection prevention and control (IPC), such as 100% of countries having basic water, sanitation, hygiene and waste management services in all health care facilities and 90% of countries meeting all WHO’s minimum requirements for IPC programmes by 2030. There are also commitments on investments to facilitate equitable access to and appropriate use of antimicrobials, as well as on reporting surveillance data on antimicrobial use and AMR across sectors.
Acknowledging that AMR is a complex problem, the declaration recognises the need for a multisectoral response combining human, agricultural, animal, and environmental sector-specific interventions.
“In the century since Alexander Fleming stumbled across penicillin in a laboratory in London, antibiotics have become a mainstay of medicine, transforming once-deadly infections into treatable and curable conditions,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Antimicrobial resistance threatens to unwind that progress, making it without question one of the most pressing health challenges of our time. Today’s declaration includes vital commitments that, if translated into action, will help to track AMR, slow it down, expand access to antimicrobial medicines like antibiotics and spur the development of new ones.”
The declaration formalises the standing Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on AMR as the central coordinating mechanism to support the global response to AMR. It also requests the Quadripartite organisations, together with countries, to update the Global Action Plan (GAP) on Antimicrobial Resistance by 2026 to ensure a robust and inclusive multisectoral response, through a One Health approach. The declaration also gives the Quadripartite the mandate to follow up and report back on implementation of the GAP and political declaration outcomes.
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, 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.