The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) are calling for world leaders to take "robust action" to mitigate the impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
In a joint white paper published yesterday in CMI Communications, IDSA and ESCMID experts urged world leaders attending the upcoming United Nations (UN) High-Level Meeting on AMR to adopt a political declaration with "bold targets and practical steps" to accelerate progress against drug-resistant bacteria across the human, animal, agricultural, and environmental sectors.
"To truly propel consequential, sustainable progress against AMR, the UN political declaration must include bold targets and be accompanied by robust financing," the groups wrote. "We urge all participants to agree on a global commitment to scale up action commensurate with the present threat of AMR, with the aim to reduce the global deaths caused by AMR by 10 percent by 2030."
Among the targets recommended by IDSA/ESCMID to achieve that goal is for 70% of all antibiotic use globally to be from the group of antibiotics that the World Health Organization (WHO) defines as Access antibiotics -- first- and second-line antibiotics with a narrow spectrum of activity that offer high therapeutic value with lower potential for resistance. They also call for a 30% reduction in the quantity of antibiotics used in the agri-food system.
To prevent the infections that drive global use of antibiotics, the groups say world leaders should set a goal of reaching 14 million children globally with essential immunization services, commit to scaling up implementation of the WHO's infection prevention and control guidelines to ensure that all nations have the core components in place, and improve access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene.
We urge all participants to agree on a global commitment to scale up action commensurate with the present threat of AMR, with the aim to reduce the global deaths caused by AMR by 10 percent by 2030.
Other recommendations include rebuilding the antimicrobial drug pipeline, with a focus on developing a sustainable innovation ecosystem that can deliver drugs that target multidrug-resistant bacteria, strengthening and scaling up global AMR surveillance systems, and establishing an independent scientific panel for AMR mitigation.
"We strongly encourage them to work with our societies to help provide the scientific basis to guide this important work," they wrote.