Building political momentum in the fight against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
4 May 2021, Rome - FAO Director-General QU Dongyu today urged the international community to step up joint efforts in advocating for the responsible and sustainable use of antimicrobials – actions that can save the lives of people and animals.
He spoke at the First Meeting of the Global Leaders Group (GLG) on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which came on the heels of the High-Level Interactive Dialogue of the General Assembly on AMR last week.
During the meeting, the Director-General announced FAO’s new Action Plan on AMR for 2021-2025 emphasizing the centrality of capacity building at national level.
The Action Plan sets out the vision and goal, as well as five key objectives, which will guide FAO’s work in the next five years, as follows: increasing stakeholder awareness and engagement; strengthening surveillance and research; enabling good practices; promoting responsible use of antimicrobials; strengthening governance and allocating resources sustainably.
In his opening remarks, the FAO Director-General, also highlighted three key areas of engagement for the GLG that could act as catalysts in the fight against AMR.
First, GLG can strengthen coherent multi-stakeholder engagement on AMR, including through the Partnership Platform for Actions against AMR being currently developed by the FAO/OIE/WHO Tripartite Collaboration on AMR.
Secondly, QU emphasised the role of the GLG in mobilizing resources to apply the One Health approach to AMR interventions. The approach recognises the strong links between humans, animals and the environment, and the need to tackle global health threats holistically.
To this end, he stressed the need for investing in multi-sectoral coordination at all levels, building on such mechanisms as the AMR Multi-Partner Trust Fund.
In conclusion, the FAO Director-General pointed to the crucial role of the GLG in increasing global ambition to implement the commitments on AMR.
“I am certain that the GLG, speaking with One Voice for One Health, will have a substantial impact on the global AMR narrative,” he added.
The Director-General reiterated FAO’s commitment in providing integrated and coherent assistance to Members, including on AMR.
The first GLG meeting, chaired by Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, also saw the participation of Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Monique Eloit, Director-General of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), Inger Andersen, and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) among others. Co-chair Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of People's Republic of Bangladesh delivered her remarks via video message. The two-day event will discuss the Action Plan of the Global Leaders Group on AMR, including key performance indicators and activities, mapping of key opportunities for engagement and communication strategy.
Tackling AMR threats together
FAO believes that AMR threats can only be successfully tackled if everyone works together.
At country level, this means a range of ministries - from health, food, agriculture to environment - working together alongside the private sector and other non-state actors.
At global level, with far- and wide-reaching impacts, a leading example of collective efforts to fight AMR is the work of the FAO/OIE/WHO Tripartite Collaboration on AMR with UNEP.
This includes the establishing of initiatives such as the One Health Global Leaders Group on AMR and the Partnership Platform for Action Against AMR that pave the way for shared vision and collective global actions to tackle AMR.
FAO's work on AMR
Antimicrobial resistance in animal pathogens is already affecting domesticated animals and as a result impacts livestock production, which undermines food safety and security.
In addition, antimicrobial-resistant pathogens can develop and spread along food chain and move between animals, humans, and the environment. It means they may also be in the food we eat and water we drink.
Being a multidisciplinary organization, FAO plays a key role in providing integrated and coherent assistance to countries in regulating and monitoring the use of antimicrobials and in preventing and minimizing the development of resistance across agri-food systems.
In addition, FAO's experience in capacity development allows it to respond to countries' requests for support on the use of antimicrobials and the prevention and control of AMR, among other issues.
To support its Members, FAO developed a series of tools to back food and agriculture sectors in managing AMR. One such tool is the FAO Assessment Tool for Laboratories and AMR Surveillance Systems (FAO-ATLASS) - a tool for assessing and defining targets to improve national AMR surveillance systems in the food and agriculture sectors. Another, the Progressive Management Pathway for Antimicrobial Resistance (FAO-PMP-AMR) - a guide that helps Members put their National Action Plans on AMR into action.