78th World Health Assembly 

May 19, 2025. 12.00 – 14.00 CET 

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a medical, social, and policy crisis driving up mortality from both infectious and noncommunicable diseases, intensifying inequality, hindering economic stability, and challenging climate resilience, particularly in low-resource settings. While progress in antimicrobial pipelines is important, tackling drug-resistant infections urgently requires integration across infectious disease prevention, treatment, chronic care, and environmental health system. 

In this context, as part of our Pillar of Work on One Health, and current efforts to elevate attention to the threat of AMR, we convened experts from the public and private sector, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and AMR survivors to share their work, experience, and inputs for sustainable solutions to the AMR crisis. 

The panel opened with introductory remarks from Katherine Urbáez, Executive Director of the Health Diplomacy Alliance, who also moderated the conversation. Urbáez set the stage for focusing on AMR prevention and mitigation by highlighting the need to explore global actions on AMR, the landscape of healthcare products, gaps in innovative prevention and diagnostics, and the push-and-pull incentives for sustainable financing mechanisms. 

This was followed by a panel discussion wherein Professor Dame Sally Davies, UK Special Envoy on AMR, highlighted the importance of the establishing an Independent Panel on Evidence for Action Against AMR. She stressed that an inclusive, representative, and One Health approach driven panel is key to inform evidence-based AMR prevention and mitigation policies, communicating an urgent need for ensuring sustainable funding mechanisms for their implementation. 

Providing a glimpse into the regional relevance of the global AMR dialogue, Dr Ntuli Kopologwe, Director General, The East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community, shared the significance of establishing and financing National Action Plans on AMR. He stressed that member states need support to develop surveillance capacity and infrastructure and emphasized the need for strengthening regional partnerships and collaboration centered on a One Health approach.  

Bringing the perspective on innovation in medical products, Eva Rennen, Member of the Board of BEAM Alliance and co-founder at Nostics, shared the role of AI in accelerating pace, improving efficiency, and reducing price of novel antibiotics and diagnostics. She discussed incremental versus transformative innovation, stating a need to conceptualize preventive technologies beyond Infection Prevention and Control and WASH, and consider the entire patient journey from a holistic perspective.  

In reference to the link of AMR with NCDs, Per Wahlstedt, Expert in Healthcare from Swedish Cancer Society, brought to the fore the relevance of curbing AMR towards improving clinical management of Non-Communicable Diseases. He highlighted that around 300,000 people globally are affected with skin cancer and that AMR is 1.25 times more common in cancer patients. He recommended that AMR stewardship at the hospital and healthcare level is critical for improving quality of care for cancer patients.  

Sadhavi Chauhan, Government Engagement and Policy Manager, Access to Medicine Foundation, advanced the conversation on R&D of medical products by complementing it with the perspective of access. She shared the core facets of the AMR Benchmark, a tool that guides responsible production and distribution of antimicrobials and the role of member states in improving access to AMR products by designing supportive policies, regulations and guidelines. 

Bringing the story of patients and survivors. Vanessa Carter, Chair, WHO Task Force of AMR Survivors and of Executive Director of the AMR Narrative, provided critical patient perspective to the conversation by sharing her lived experience with drug resistant infections. She stressed the importance of including patient, survivor, and caregiver voices in designing policies to address the burden of AMR, highlighting the key role of awareness, surveillance and financing centred on community partnerships and collaboration.  

Our Alliance is committed to leverage diplomacy to support member states and relevant stakeholders to advance action on AMR work and monitor progress on the commitments  agreed in the past High-Level Political Declaration on AMR and current global and regional initiatives. This event, by closely examining the determinants for AMR prevention and mitigation and calling for an urgent need to adopt integrated interdisciplinary evidence-based solutions, is a step within our objective to sustain global momentum to reduce the AMR burden.