G20 considers how to accelerate progress on AMR through new infection prevention and control targets

The G20’s concern on the potential for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to generate systemic-level shocks dates to the German G20 Presidency in 2017, resulting in the establishment of the Global AMR Research and Development Hub and strengthened commitments to develop and implement one-health National Action Plans against AMR.  Since then, this topic has achieved varying degrees of prominence in the G20’s work, with the Covid-19 crisis dominating the agenda in recent years.

This year, under Brazil’s presidency, attention is shifting to new risks for global stability, with AMR high on the list of potential health emergencies. To support G20 members in their efforts to improve international co-ordination and co-ordination in the face of these threats, the OECD and the World Health Organization are working together to co-host an awareness-raising event to take place in the margins of the G20 Health Working Group, in Brasilia on April 9, 2024. The aim of the meeting is to help build the case (based on mounting evidence from both organisations) for Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) targets as a first step to developing more comprehensive one-health targets for driving progress on the prevention of AMR.

Participating countries will be invited to provide their perspective on the current implementation of IPC policies and on viable targets and metrics to advance this key public health priority. Countries will be invited to reflect on the following issues:

• What are the main barriers to setting global targets for the implementation of IPC?
• What lessons can be learned from previous target-setting work to help G20 countries find common ground on this agenda?
• How could the G20 promote the development of targets on IPC as a first step towards a comprehensive package of targets on AMR?

Discussions on these questions can help to drive support for more joined up international action in the lead up to the 2024 United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and the 4^th International Ministerial Conference on AMR. Within these fora, the establishment of national and/or collective targets are likely to play a critical role in defining next steps for action, including in areas such as: IPC; prudent use of antibiotics in human and veterinary medicine; addressing AMR in the environment; and sufficient research and development for new antimicrobials, vaccines and diagnostics. In parallel, work is accelerating to agree the draft WHO global monitoring framework for IPC. Overall, progress in these fora links closely to flagship priorities for G20 action in 2024 under Brazil’s Presidency, including renewed action on One Health, and implementation of the Framework for Economic Vulnerabilities and Risks (FEVR), where AMR has already been highlighted as a critical risk for global security and stability.