EU One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance

30 June 2017

EU One Health AMR

Yesterday, the European Union launched its new ‘One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance’, developed after an evaluation of the previous 2011–2016 action plan, and a public consultation earlier this year.

The plan describes antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as “a serious social and economic burden… estimated to be responsible for 25,000 deaths per year in the EU alone and 700,000 deaths per year globally”. The plan’s overarching goal is “to preserve the possibility of effective treatment of infections in humans and animals”.

The Action Plan sets out three main pillars:

  1. Making the EU a best practice region: as the evaluation of the 2011 action plan highlighted, this will require better evidence, better coordination and surveillance, and better control measures. EU action will focus on key areas and help Member States in establishing, implementing and monitoring their own national One Health action plans on AMR, which they agreed to develop at the 2015 World Health Assembly.
  2. Boosting research, development and innovation by closing current knowledge gaps, providing novel solutions and tools to prevent and treat infectious diseases, and improving diagnosis in order to control the spread of AMR.
  3. Intensifying EU efforts worldwide to shape the global agenda on AMR and the related risks in an increasingly interconnected world.

Under these pillars there are a number of specific actions. Key changes from the previous plan include:

  • an increased role for reporting and surveillance
  • recognition of AMR in the environment as a key aspect of the One Health approach, with actions to understand and tackle this
  • more support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in their research and development work
  • a commitment to explore new economic models and incentives, as proposed in the 2016 O’Neill report

The Microbiology Society and its members have an important role to play in tackling the issue of antimicrobial resistance, helping to make sure that policy-makers are advised with scientific evidence and best practice. The Society recently published a short policy briefing on AMR.

EU One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance

Summary Factsheet


Image: digicomphoto/Thinkstock.