Concerned parties from around the world gathered Thursday at the Ritz-Carlton in the Red Sea city ahead of the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on AMR for a session focused on non-state actors (non-governmental organisations, private sector, academia and others) to work across sectors to address “one of the most urgent global threats to health and development.”
The conference is expected to bring together representatives from 57 states, including 48 ministers and deputy ministers, and more than 450 participants from major international and civil society organizations, including United Nations offices and agencies.
The goal is to move from “declaration to implementation” through multi-sector partnerships in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, which has had disastrous effects on health, economies and societies, particularly in low-income countries and medium.
A silent pandemic
When bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites stop responding to antimicrobial medications, it is known as antimicrobial resistance. Drug resistance increases the risk of disease transmission, serious illness, disability, and death by rendering antibiotics and other antimicrobial medications ineffective and making infections difficult or impossible to treat.
In the political declaration adopted by the General Assembly, world leaders agreed to reduce the estimated five million human deaths annually associated with AMR by 10 percent by 2030. Additionally, they called for sustainable domestic financing and $100 million in catalytic financing. , to help achieve a goal of at least 60 percent of countries having funded national action plans on antimicrobial resistance by 2030.
It also formalized the Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on Antimicrobial Resistance, which includes the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Development Program (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (FAO) together with the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). , as a central coordination structure to support the global response.
Inaugural session of AMR, the urgent global health and socioeconomic crisis that threatens all age groups in all regions, especially with low- and middle-income countries being the most affected.
Saudi Health Minister Fahad Al-Jajel has stressed the need to adopt a “One Health” approach that systematically addresses obstacles hindering progress as antimicrobial resistance affects humans, animals and the environment alike. “The Jeddah meeting is a crucial opportunity to strengthen our collective global response to the risks of this silent and growing pandemic,” has said.
The meeting will address priorities including surveillance and administration, capacity development, funding provision, governance, innovation, research and development.
Political commitment at the highest level
UN News is in Jeddah covering this global conference and spoke with Kathrine Urbaez, executive director of the Geneva-based non-governmental organization (NGO), Health Diplomacy Alliance.
The Alliance focuses on advocacy and diplomacy to advance global health issues. He told us that the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the vital importance of “One Health” policies and building cooperation and awareness across sectors and stakeholders.
Ms. Urbáez stressed the need to move from commitments to practical actions, adding that the Political Declaration of the General Assembly and the Jeddah Conference are big steps in the right direction, and what is needed is to ensure that the political momentum continues . The Executive Director insisted that implementing the commitments is feasible if there is political will to do so, and that establishing “a monitoring and accountability mechanism” is key.
She added: “We have to look at antimicrobial resistance from a truly holistic global health perspective. I think it is important to have the participation of politicians at the highest level, not just the Ministers of Health, Environment, Agriculture or Finance. “We really need a political commitment to promote policies against antimicrobial resistance and commit to the one health approach.”
More than a health threat
The complexity of the issue, lack of funding and political will in some nations “with competing health problems that governments have to address” have made it difficult to move from policy documents to action, according to Julian Nyamupachitu, deputy director of ReAct Africa, a global network working to catalyze action on antimicrobial resistance primarily in low- and middle-income countries.
As countries review and weigh new national plans, Ms Nyamupachitu said ReAct Africa is helping them prioritize activities that are more practical and use tools that are available to help inform their policymaking, such as the costing tool and WHO budgets.
The Deputy Director said the Political Declaration was an improvement on its 2016 predecessor, but it would have been “good to see commitments, not just targets” on funding.
He said the issue of “moving from declaration to implementation” is very timely and he hoped to see serious commitment from Ministers in Jeddah.
“I think awareness has been raised. They have appreciated the statistics that have been shared. “In fact, this is a threat to global health, which not only affects the health sector, not only affects the agricultural, environmental and animal sectors, but it is actually also an economic problem,” he added.
“The antibiotic market is broken”
Michiel Peters is the secretariat representative of the AMR Industry Alliance, which includes companies and industrial organizations in the fields of research and development (R&D), pharmaceuticals, generics, biotechnology and diagnostics. It also represents the broader private sector on the Steering Committee of the Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform on AMR, which was established and is facilitated by the four organizations supporting the global response.
Mr. Peters said antibiotics are “fundamentally different” than any other product launched on the market “where its objective would be to sell as many as possible.” He said that with antibiotics, the goal is to achieve “the right medicine for the right person when they need it”which is not always a lucrative business. He also noted that developing antibiotics requires a “incredible amount of time and investment” and in many cases the medicines do not reach the market, so “The antibiotic market is broken.”
Peter's added that there is a serious lack of government funding and incentives for antibiotic research and development, but the biggest concern is that “Researchers who really needed to do science in laboratories are abandoning the field,” unlike diseases like cancer, for example, where the research is solid.
The private sector representative said that much progress has been made since the first High-Level Meeting on AMR was held in 2016, but there is still much more to do and “No one can face this problem alone.”
He said it is very important to watch the Jeddah conference and the plenary meeting of the Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform, which will be held in parallel on the closing day. “Not just what we can put in writing, but what we are actually going to do.”
