Quadripartite launches new platform to combat the threat of antimicrobial resistance to human, animal and ecosystem health

The A multi-stakeholder partnership platform for antimicrobial resistance was launched today to ensure that the growing threats and impacts of antimicrobial resistance are addressed globally.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UN Environment Program (UNEP), World Health Organization ( WHO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), better known as the Quadripartite, are joining forces on this initiative to highlight the threat that AMR poses to people, animals, plants, ecosystems and livelihoods.

An estimated at 1.3 million people worldwide die each year directly due to bacterial resistance to antimicrobial drugs ( AMR). If nothing is done, that number could rise dramatically, bringing higher public health costs and pushing more people into poverty, especially in low-income countries, underscoring the need for the Platform to mobilize further coordinated efforts.

Antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs play a key role in the success of modern medicine and have greatly improved human and animal health. But overuse and misuse have reduced their effectiveness, with more pathogens developing the ability to survive the antimicrobials designed to eliminate them.

AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial agents. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents become ineffective and infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. Moreover, 1.3 billion people depend on livestock for their livelihoods and 20 million people depend on aquaculture, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The spread of resistant strains of pathogens inevitably affects their lives because it increases the suffering and losses of animals. Application to crops, as well as improper disposal of unused and expired drugs and waste from industries and communities can lead to soil and stream pollution that spread the trigger for unwanted microorganisms to develop resistance to tools intended for their containment and removal.

The new multi-stakeholder partnership platform for antimicrobial resistance is an inclusive and international forum that brings together voices from all fields, sectors and perspectives through a holistic and systemic One Health approach, for a shared vision that responds to the need to improve the coordination of efforts by a large number of stakeholders.

Quotations from the leader of the Quadripartite

“Antimicrobial resistance threatens animal health, food safety and security, economic prosperity and ecosystems around the world,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. “The world needs to join forces now to prevent drug-resistant diseases and reduce their implications.”

“The challenges against AMR cannot be understood or solved separately from the triple planetary crisis – the crisis of climate change, the crisis of nature and biodiversity loss, and the crisis of pollution and waste, all of which are fueled by unsustainable patterns of consumption and production,” said UNEP Executive Director- and Inger Andersen. “The climate crisis and AMR are two of the biggest and most complex threats the world is currently facing. Both are aggravated and can be improved by human action. “This platform will be key to raising the profile and urgency of addressing AMR while building and sustaining political momentum and public support,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “It will help drive global coordination so that our collective response is more strategic, resource efficient and sustainable.”

“We can be ahead of AMR with the right partnerships and collaboration models. Now is the time to act,” said WOAH CEO Monique Eloit. “We strive to protect everyone from the threat of AMR.”

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week and Platform

Because drug-resistant infections can strike anyone, anywhere, public health, agri-food systems, and ecosystems are at risk everywhere. The fight against AMR is a shared responsibility of all of us, which is why it is this year’s theme
World Antimicrobial Awareness Weekstarting today, is “Together we prevent antimicrobial resistance”.

The platform is a way to redouble our collective efforts to save millions of lives and preserve the effectiveness of antimicrobials for current and future generations through their sustainable use. The new platform will engage and empower stakeholders around the world One health spectrum in an inclusive, transparent manner to build consensus among public and private stakeholders on a global vision for AMR, gain knowledge to foster collective understanding of the challenges and opportunities against AMR, and take multi-stakeholder action to contain, combat and reverse AMR in according to the Global action plan and national action plans.