Awareness-raising on Antimicrobial Resistance: Report of global consultation meetings

The Quadripartite agencies – the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE) organized two consecutive global consultation meetings for awareness raising on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The meetings were conducted virtually from 28 to 30 June 2022 and from 5 to 7 July 2022. The consultations brought together diverse stakeholders from across the globe and across the human, animal, plant, and environmental health sectors. Deliberations from the consultations showed a clear global convergence around the core areas of AMR awareness raising in terms of key audiences, areas of work, and engagement approaches.

The priority target audiences identified for joint AMR awareness raising are children and youth, media, parliamentarians, and policy makers. The priorities for developing a common approach to awareness raising include engaging the target audiences in a participatory approach; emphasizing the basics of AMR; and ensuring messages are simple, consistent, and clear; agreeing on common definitions, language, and terminologies of AMR across sectors, and ensuring joint coordination of awareness across sectors. Many cross-cutting opportunities were also identified for joint, multisectoral awareness activities. These include joint pre-service training curricula; joint media briefings and media engagement; showcasing AMR at global sporting events and competitions and creating specific AMR awards for champions; and integrating AMR awareness into internationally recognized days and campaigns.