Management Sciences for Health Statement on the Political Declaration of the UN High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance

Arlington, VA—October 1, 2024—Management Sciences for Health (MSH) commends global leaders for approving a political declaration at last week’s United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting (HLM) on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) committing to reduce the estimated 4.95 million human deaths associated with bacterial AMR annually by 10% by 2030.  

The declaration’s targets—which also include achieving 90% of the World Health Organization’s minimum requirements for infection prevention and control programs and 100% access to basic water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and waste management services in health care facilities by 2030—are admirable. Other of the declaration’s goals, such as promoting routine immunization and investing in resilient health systems are also crucial to ensuring access to essential health services. Strengthening pharmaceutical management systems is equally critical, including achieving the ambitious HLM-AMR target of 70% of antibiotics used in human health coming from the “Access” category of antibiotics.  

MSH also applauds the declaration’s emphasis on the need for multisectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration across human, animal, and plant health sectors. Adopting this One Health approach encourages stakeholders from the agriculture, environment, finance, manufacturing, research and development, and education sectors to collaborate in creating a comprehensive response to the growing threat of AMR.  

However, much work still needs to be done, and the stakes are too high for simply issuing declaration without following up with plans for implementation. Strong political leadership at the global, national, and local levels will be critical for achieving the whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach needed to meet the declaration’s goals. Donors and governments must focus on investing in national capacities for AMR prevention and response in low- and middle-income countries through sustainable financing and technical support and by compiling and sharing lessons learned and best practices.  

“To make meaningful progress, governments should commit to a comprehensive systems approach and put enough resources toward adopting and implementing national action plans to effectively stop this not-so-silent pandemic once and for all,” MSH’s Francis “Kofi” Aboagye-Nyame wrote in an article published recently in Health Policy Watch. 

Finally, establishing national ownership of the problem, and of the need to address it, is vital. Member states’ governments must lead the way in developing the next iterations of their National Action Plans tailored to their unique contexts and needs, and local actors must have the resources to implement these plans.  

MSH remains committed to advancing these goals, promoting a comprehensive response to AMR that prioritizes health equity and sustainable solutions for all communities. As voiced by other global and national bodies, MSH considers a health systems strengthening approach fundamental to containing AMR and believes linking it to other mutually reinforcing initiatives—such as universal health coverage, patient safety, quality of care, One Health, and infectious disease pandemic preparedness—will help pave the way for a healthier, more resilient future.