World Antibiotic Awareness Week 2016
16/11/2016
World Antibiotic Awareness Week 2016
Advocating for Appropriate Antibiotic Use
16 November, 1.15pm-2.45pm
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am happy to represent FAO at today’s event organized by the World Health Organization, marking the World Antibiotic Awareness Week. Let me thank my colleague, the Director of the WHO NY Office, to convene us here today to look at an issue of great importance for all of us.
As mentioned by the previous speakers, it was only three months ago that for the first time, world leaders came together in September at the United Nations in New York to address the challenges of AMR, which poses a grave threat to human health, food security, economic and social development, and the overall achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Political Declaration, agreed upon by Member States, acknowledges theimportant work and leadership of the Tripartite agencies, WHO, FAO and the OIE, in addressing AMR in the context of the “One Health” approach, and also reaffirms that the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance, developed by WHO in collaboration with FAO and OIE and adopted by the World Health Assembly last year, is the blueprint for tackling microbial resistance.
It is an example of a collaborative effort where different parts of the UN system came together with their respective expertise, including in human and animal health, agriculture, food and the environment sector, to address a global health issue which affects us all.
The “One Health’ approach brings together the Tripartite and other entities and facilitates collective efforts towards the same goal. It requires community education, surveillance along the pathways, information sharing, sewage and water treatment plants, toilets in the rural areas, and the use of antimicrobials only through a well governed system of prescriptions.
Just last month, with the increasing threat of emerging and re-emerging zoonoses, transboundary animal diseases and AMR, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) announced a regional approach to counter the dangers and committed itself to the establishment of an ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Animal Health and Zoonoses (ACCAHZ).
The centre’s main goal is to sustainably address common animal diseases and threats that can also compromise the health and livelihoods of millions of people dependent on livestock for their subsistence, and will play an important role in supporting the achievement of ‘One Health’ mandates through the research and development required to curb the threats of transboundary animal diseases, zoonoses and AMR.
In addition to working together to solve many of these health issues, we are also better at raising awareness together than we are alone.
It is essential that the United Nations, in particular the Tripartite Organizations, together with governments, civil society, the private sector and other partners, continues to improve awareness of the appropriate use of antibiotics and understanding of antimicrobial issues.
This is why today’s event is so important: it continues the momentum we achieved in September – it shows that our work is not yet done and that more people must be made aware of the consequences of AMR so that we take the appropriate steps to protect our planet and its people.
By acting now, we can reduce AMR stemming from the food and agriculture sectors in a number of ways. Good agriculture, husbandry and hygiene practices, biosecurity measures, and proper animal welfare can reduce the need to use antimicrobials during agri-food production and processing.
We also need improved regulatory frameworks and better enforcement of existing regulations by governments, and those of regional economic communities and trade agreements. Investment is also required to assist countries lagging behind in stewardship in One Health approaches and issues like AMR.
And in line with today’s event, we need to scale up awareness-raising through outreach to farmers, agriculture and food producers, food suppliers, medical and veterinary professionals and to all citizens.
The role and leadership of the Tripartite organizations is crucial in this regard, as is the commitment of Member States to support the development and implementation of National Action Plans and policies in addressing AMR.
FAO is doing its part to raise awareness on this issue. Just this Monday, FAO held an event in Rome to present the FAO Action Plan on AMR and to launch the first of a series of FAO technical papers on AMR.
The report summarizes the magnitude of AMR in the food, and especially the livestock sector, and provides key recommendations to support and pursue more research.
Several joint events and discussions are also planned by the representatives of the Tripartite at different levels to follow-up on the recommendations of the Political Declaration in support of its implementation.
I could not close without expressing also my thanks to the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations and in particular to Ambassador Juan José Gómez Camacho, who facilitated the adoption of the Political Declaration on AMR, and continues to be a leader and advocate on this critical issue.
Thank you.