IDSA Issues Statement on United Nations Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance

Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) vice president Paul Auwaerter, MD, MBA, FIDSA, and treasurer Helen Boucher, MD, FIDSA, will join world leaders gathering tomorrow for an historic United Nations (UN) General Assembly meeting on one of the most urgent public health crises facing our world today-antimicrobial resistance (AMR). More than 500 IDSA members with expertise in AMR stand behind Auwaerter and Boucher on a petition that will be sent to the UN today in support of a coordinated global response to this global threat. Tomorrow’s high-level meeting represents a significant opportunity to drive the action needed to effectively stem the tide of AMR. 

IDSA says it was honored to be among a select group invited to present to the UN to help shape the organization’s consideration of this important issue and recommend actions to address AMR. IDSA is calling upon the UN and all of its member nations to commit to a robust response to antimicrobial resistance including antimicrobial stewardship; incentives for research and development of new antibiotics and diagnostic tests; infection prevention and control; surveillance and data collection; research to better understand resistance and the impact of our interventions; and investment in the infectious diseases, health care and public health workforce. These activities should build off of progress already being made in several countries, including the United States through its National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria (CARB). Boucher, along with IDSA president Johan S. Bakken, MD, FIDSA, and IDSA antimicrobial resistance committee chair Barbara Murray, MD, FIDSA, wrote about the enormous significance of tomorrow’s UN meeting in an article to be published in the Annals of Internal Medicine the day prior to the UN General Assembly meeting.

Antimicrobial resistance will receive urgently needed attention on a global stage as a result of the UN focus on the issue, and IDSA will continue to work to ensure that the momentum generated by these meetings will be translated into the real solutions patients need. IDSA has been urging world leaders to address AMR for more than a decade, with our 2004 Bad Bugs, No Drugs report, our 2011 Combating Antimicrobial Resistance: Policy Recommendations to Save Lives and ongoing international and domestic advocacy efforts. In 2014, IDSA launched the U.S. Stakeholder Forum on Antimicrobial Resistance (S-FAR), which includes more than 110 member organizations, including medical, scientific and health care professional societies; patient, consumer and advocacy groups, public health entities and industry. S-FAR provides opportunities for stakeholder groups to engage with government in support of policies to combat AMR.

IDSA continues to mobilize the broader community in support of efforts to combat AMR and has joined the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy (CDDEP) to host a Forum on Sustainable Access to Effective Antibiotics. The Forum will bring together an international group of experts to discuss stewardship and conservation, innovation, and global accountability and governance. In advance of the UN meeting, IDSA also circulated a public petition in support of coordinated global action to address AMR, which was signed by more than 2,000 people across the world.

Source: Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)