As world leaders reflect on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and other global outbreaks to address gaps and improve future responses, current discussions on an international treaty on pandemic prevention and preparedness offer a unique opportunity at a critical time to address the growing public health threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). It has emerged as one of the greatest public health challenges of the twenty-first century, threatening the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing number of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses, and fungi that are resistant to the medicines commonly used to treat them. AMR is a borderless and cross-cutting threat that affects everyone.
Tackling this challenge requires an international framework advancing effective and enhanced collaboration, synergies, policies, and interventions within and among countries. Meaningful engagement of policymakers and civil society is crucial in order to develop an appropriate governance structure, to increase global solidarity, accountability and transparency mechanisms, and to define the shape and content of the future instrument.
This policy brief compiles strategic information for policy makers and civil society to continue prioritizing the AMR response and use the on-going political efforts for international pandemic preparedness to jointly address the threat emerging from AMR. It aims to describe the main components of a potential future pandemic preparedness and response instrument, outline why AMR should be included, explain why and how policymakers and civil society can impact the drafting process, define objectives related to AMR, and lastly, to offer some key recommendations.
Read the full version here.
