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Dec 30, 2023

Global Organizations Highlight One Health AMR Research Priorities, Includes Agrifood Sector

Image credit: jniittymaa0 via Pixabay A recent report, titled, A One Health Priority Research Agenda for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) has laid out priority research areas for mitigating the rise of

Image credit: jniittymaa0 via Pixabay

A recent report, titled, A One Health Priority Research Agenda for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) has laid out priority research areas for mitigating the rise of AMR at the interface between the agrifood, healthcare, and environmental sectors. AMR is recognized as one of the greatest global public health threats, and the One Health approach considers how resistance to antimicrobials may spread and circulate among humans, animals, plants, and the environment.

The aim of the report is to help experts deliver evidence on research strategies, interventions, and policies to better understand which AMR mitigation strategies are most effective for various stakeholders in different contexts. It is intended to guide countries, research institutes, and funding bodies in conducting and supporting One Health AMR research, as well as to help policymakers, researchers, and the scientific community work together across sectors on solutions that will prevent and mitigate AMR on a national, regional, and global scale.

The report was published by the Quadripartite, which comprises the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The goal of the Quadripartite is to preserve antimicrobial efficacy and ensure sustainable and equitable access to antimicrobials for responsible and prudent use in human, animal and plant health.

Stakeholder and expert engagement, literature reviews, a global online survey, and a consensus exercise were leveraged to produce the report, which prioritized research areas across five pillars: transmission, integrated surveillance, interventions, behavioral insights and change, and economics and policy. The following priority research areas specifically related to agrifood systems were identified across two of the five pillars:

Also noted, regarding economic policy and change, was the need to identify the potentially negative impacts of changes in antimicrobial use (AMU) on the food supply and management of AMR in the food system. Especially important to understand is how low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) can work towards an enabling environment for AMR prevention and control within their own particular contexts.

Overall, the report consolidates the ten most important research priorities that have the greatest potential for strengthening research capacity. The following consolidated priorities are considered the most actionable, inclusive, and impactful in the field of One Health AMR over a term of 4–8 years: