Global leaders have pledged to act on antimicrobial resistance.

The growing threat of antimicrobial resistance

Global leaders on Thursday adopted a political declaration at the High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, committing to set clear targets and take action to reduce the 4.95 million annual deaths due to antimicrobial resistance by 10% by 2030.

The declaration calls for supporting at least 60% of countries in funding their AMR action plan targets through sustainable national financing and US$100 million in catalytic funding. This will be achieved in several ways, such as diversifying funding sources and ensuring greater donor participation in the Multi-Partner Trust Fund on Antimicrobial Resistance.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Health Organization, and the World Organisation for Animal Health welcomed the declaration, emphasizing the importance of the One Health approach, which recognizes that the health of humans, animals, plants and ecosystems is closely linked and interdependent.

The declaration also sets other important targets, including that by 2030, at least 70% of the world's antibiotics used in human health should come from the group of "available" antibiotics defined by WHO, which have relatively few side effects and lead to a low risk of antimicrobial resistance. At the same time, the declaration requires all countries to provide essential water and sanitation services to health facilities, and 90% of countries meet the minimum requirements of WHO's infection prevention and control program.

In agriculture and animal health, the Declaration commits to reducing the use of antimicrobials in the global agri-food system by implementing infection prevention and control measures.

On the environmental front, the declaration stresses the need to prevent antimicrobial contamination and strengthen research on antimicrobial resistance. The declaration states that the environment plays a vital role in developing and spreading antimicrobial resistance and must be integrated into the solution.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that antimicrobial resistance is one of the most pressing health challenges of our time and that decisive action can help track and slow its progression, improve access to antibiotics, and facilitate the development of new medicines.

The Declaration formalized the Permanent Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on Antimicrobial Resistance as the central coordination mechanism supporting the global antimicrobial resistance response. The declaration also calls on the Quad to work with countries to update the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance by 2026.

The Declaration commits to promote multisectoral exchange of experiences and best practices for the effective implementation of AMR governance.