A new policy brief from the Global Quadripartite—comprising the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)—sets out urgent, coordinated actions needed to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR), one of the greatest threats to human and planetary health.
Titled Key actions to curb antimicrobial resistance: policy brief for parliamentarians, the document warns of the staggering consequences of inaction, with an estimated 39 million deaths directly attributable to AMR between 2025 and 2050. AMR not only endangers medical progress but also threatens food systems, environmental sustainability, and economic stability. The brief follows UNEP’s Navigating New Horizons report, which recognised AMR as a key “signal of change” for global development.
Drawing on the One Health approach, the Quadripartite calls for integrated efforts across human, animal, plant, and environmental health. The policy brief provides practical, evidence-based recommendations for legislators, including strengthening legal frameworks, ensuring multisectoral governance, increasing investment, and improving public awareness. It highlights the consequences of misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in medicine, agriculture, and aquaculture, and underscores the role of environmental pollution in accelerating AMR spread.
Importantly, the report stresses the interconnectedness of human activity and microbial ecosystems, explaining how poor sanitation, weak infection control, inadequate veterinary services, and environmental contamination all fuel the evolution and spread of resistant pathogens. Agricultural practices and pharmaceutical waste are also highlighted as key contributors to environmental AMR reservoirs.
The document offers parliamentarians a roadmap for action, from developing and enforcing AMR legislation to securing sustainable financing for surveillance and prevention programmes. It encourages cross-sectoral governance and inclusive dialogue, noting that AMR solutions must engage stakeholders at every level—from communities and civil society to international bodies.
This publication is a call to action for parliamentarians and policymakers to confront AMR with coordinated, science-led governance. As AMR cuts across borders and sectors, the response must be equally comprehensive and aligned with sustainable development goals. The long-term implications of AMR reach far beyond hospitals or farms—it’s a global challenge that requires global solidarity.
The report was developed by the Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on AMR (QJS), established at the request of the UN Secretary-General to coordinate global action across organisations. The QJS supports countries in implementing the Interagency Coordination Group (IACG) recommendations and fosters a shared global vision. Its work is grounded in the shared mandates of its partner organisations and reflects the growing consensus that AMR is a systemic risk that demands bold policy intervention.
Read the full policy brief: https://www.qjsamr.org/publications/m/item/z