IDSA Convenes New National Stakeholder Group on Antimicrobial Resistance

Today the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) launched the U.S. Stakeholder Forum on Antimicrobial Resistance (S-FAR) and released the Forum’s foundational principles. More than 75 national organizations, representing medical and allied health professionals, hospitals and other healthcare facilities, patients and consumers, public health, research and advocacy, industry, and international health organizations have joined the partnership so far. Partners will convene for the inaugural S-FAR meeting in Philadelphia on Oct. 9, 2014.

“IDSA firmly believes that in order to effectively address the public health crisis of antimicrobial resistance, we must bring together a diverse set of stakeholders to work collaboratively and inform federal policy. We are proud to convene this important group and delighted that so many partners are eager to work with us for the benefit of public health,” says Barbara E. Murray, MD, FIDSA, president of IDSA. “We are encouraged by recent heightened federal interest in antimicrobial resistance, and believe now is a critical time to mobilize strong stakeholder voices to work with government leaders.”

S-FAR was convened on the principle that any U.S. government strategy to address antimicrobial resistance should involve sustained and meaningful engagement with non-government experts and stakeholders throughout the policy development and implementation process.

S-FAR supports the following principles:
• Antimicrobial resistance (AR) is a well-documented and urgent problem of global significance and the U.S. should be a leader in a multi-pronged effort to reduce the negative impact of resistance on human, animal, and plant health.
• The U.S. needs a financed, coordinated, actionable national plan to address AR with measurable goals, timelines, and mechanisms for accountability.
• The U.S. AR action plan and its implementation must be informed by formal, substantive, and regular engagement with non-government experts and stakeholders.
• Government alone cannot effectively address the problem of AR; stakeholders (including healthcare providers, pharmacists, veterinarians, patients and their families, consumers, payers, public health entities, industry, farmers & ranchers, researchers and academia, advocates, and others) are critical partners who can help inform policy, create awareness, and mobilize key constituencies and the broader public to support action.

Source: IDSA