A One Health approach to building antimicrobial resistance National Action Plans in middle and low income countries

Professor Alison Holmes, Director at the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in HCAI and AMR has been invited to present at this Wilton Park meeting from 29 June - 1 July, where she will be giving a talk on ‘AMR: highlights of the latest scientific evidence’.

This Wilton Park meeting will focus on the National Action Plans (NAPs) which WHO member countries are drafting to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR). It will bring together representatives from countries in middle and low income economic settings who are leading the development and implementation of their NAPs sharing their experiences so far and learning from one another. NAPs should embrace a “One Health” approach to combating AMR by addressing all relevant sectors: agriculture, livestock and human health. They should also consider the importance of incentives for the development of new treatments and the stewardship of existing drugs.

It will take place ahead of the UN General Assembly in September 2016 where a High Level Meeting on AMR is due to be held.

Using Wilton Park’s approach to convene a round-table and highly participative meeting the objectives are to:

• provide an open and honest forum for countries to discuss the challenges and barriers around setting up and implementing comprehensive National Action Plans
• understand the key scientific research that underpins the development of an evidence-based approach to tackling AMR at the national level
• share learning from different countries already developing, implementing and monitoring their national plans, including discussion on integrating into a “systems” approach (including discussion around WASH, infection control, integrated surveillance, stewardship of antibiotic usage for both human and animal health)
• explore how to secure political commitment to operationalise national plans across government and society
• understand the different incentives for change in the agriculture and animal health sector as well as with human health to support a One Health approach and the wider opportunities that tackling AMR provides

Other keynote speakers include Dame Sally Davies as well as experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations.

Further information can be found here