The conference also included a round-table discussion, with experts putting forward what they saw as the key pillars in the fight against AMR
The event took place on December 17, 2024, at the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon. Organized as part of the Global Health Festival, the conference coincided with the opening of the WHO Academy, also based in Lyon.
Support for coordinated collective action
Alain Mérieux, President of the Mérieux Foundation
“Antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat to global health. No one is safe, regardless of their age or where they live,” Alain Mérieux, President of the Mérieux Foundation, reminded delegates at the conference opening session.
One certainty emerged from the discussions between representatives of the WHO, the Global Fund, the One Health Trust, the University of Lorraine, the Fleming Initiative, GARDP and the Mérieux Foundation: the response to the threat must be collective and coordinated.
Yukiko Nakatani, Assistant Director-General of the WHO, called for more collaboration to achieve the goals set last September during the United Nations General Assembly session in New York: “Solidarity is crucial. Political barriers and uncertainty must be overcome. Together, targets can be reached and more lives saved.”
Countries with limited resources are particularly vulnerable to AMR
Pascale Ondoa, medical laboratory specialist, the Global Fund
Countries with limited resources are on the front line in responding to AMR, yet access to antibiotics remains a major challenge in many countries. This fact was pointed out by Pascale Ondoa, a medical laboratory specialist at the Global Fund, who quoted a recent study in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa showing that “only 1% of the 393 laboratories tracked [by the study] are able to carry out bacteriological tests (cultures and antibiograms),” depriving 163 million people of essential diagnostic tools.
The presentations highlighted the many tools developed by the WHO to help and support countries with their action plans.
Carolien Ruesen, CIDC, Netherlands
Carolien Ruesen from the Centre for Infectious Disease Control in the Netherlands explained the importance of monitoring, including the GLASS system (GLobal Antimicrobial resistance and use Surveillance System), while emphasizing the significant risk of bias when interpreting data.
Céline Pulcini from the University of Lorraine presented the AWaRe program, which divides antibiotics into three families (first choice, second choice, and last resort for special cases) and sets out prescription recommendations for the most common diseases.
Erta Kalanxhi, One Health Trust
The speakers restated the importance of strengthening monitoring and prevention systems that take overall population health into account, including access to drinking water, vaccination and improved healthcare and sanitation infrastructure. “Without that, national AMR action plans will not be able to bear fruit,” insisted Erta Kalanxhi from the One Health Trust.
Clara Maure, external relations senior officer, GARDP
Clara Maure, an external relations senior officer at GARDP, pointed out that “today, more people die from lack of access to antibiotics than from resistance itself,” underlining the complex need to fight AMR while at the same time improving the availability and correct use of essential drugs.
Meanwhile, Raheelah Ahmad from the Fleming Initiative emphasized the vital role of appropriate, targeted public information about the issues surrounding AMR in order to raise awareness of the potential impact of antibiotic misuse.
Key strategies for limiting AMR
The conference also included a round-table discussion, with experts putting forward what they saw as the key pillars in the fight against AMR.
Monitoring, diagnostics, appropriate antibiotic use (antimicrobial stewardship), and national action plans were all highlighted as priority approaches.
These parameters are central to the Mérieux Foundation’s action in the fight against AMR. Alain Mérieux underlined the vital need for collaboration between all stakeholders in confronting “these opponents that know no boundaries, either geographical or between species.”
Yukiko Nakatani, Assistant Director-General, WHO
Yukiko Nakatani concluded: “I would like to express my deep gratitude to the Mérieux Foundation for organizing such a crucial event on antimicrobial resistance. Your commitment to antimicrobial resistance is extremely important to us, because strengthening capacity is essential in order to improve data quality and take action accordingly.”