International cooperation to improve access to and sustain effectiveness of antimicrobials

Christine Årdal; Kevin Outterson; Steven J Hoffman; Abdul Ghafur; Mike Sharland; Nisha Ranganathan; Richard Smith; Anna Zorzet; Jennifer Cohn; Didier Pittet; Nils Daulaire; Chantal Morel; Zain Rizvi; Manica Balasegaram; Osman A Dar; David L Heymann; Alison H Holmes; Luke S P Moore; Ramanan Laxminarayan; Marc Mendelson; John-Arne Røttingen

doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00470-5

International cooperation to improve access to and sustain effectiveness of antimicrobials

Lancet. 2016 Jan 16;387(10015):296-307. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00470-5. Epub 2015 Nov 18.

Authors

Christine Årdal¹, Kevin Outterson², Steven J Hoffman³, Abdul Ghafur⁴, Mike Sharland⁵, Nisha Ranganathan⁶, Richard Smith⁷, Anna Zorzet⁸, Jennifer Cohn⁹, Didier Pittet¹⁰, Nils Daulaire¹, Chantal Morel¹¹, Zain Rizvi¹², Manica Balasegaram¹³, Osman A Dar¹⁴, David L Heymann¹⁵, Alison H Holmes¹⁶, Luke S P Moore¹⁶, Ramanan Laxminarayan¹⁷, Marc Mendelson¹⁸, John-Arne Røttingen¹⁹

Affiliations

¹ Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
² School of Law, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security, London, UK.
³ Global Strategy Lab, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
⁴ Apollo Hospital, Chennai, India.
⁵ Pediatric Infectious Diseases Research Group, St George's University, London, UK.
⁶ Worldwide Antimalarial Resistance Network, Oxford, UK.
⁷ Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London, UK.
⁸ Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; ReAct-Action on Antibiotic Resistance, Uppsala, Sweden.
⁹ Access Campaign, Médecins Sans Frontières, Geneva, Switzerland; Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
¹⁰ Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; WHO Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹¹ Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; LSE Health, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.
¹² Yale Law School, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
¹³ Access Campaign, Médecins Sans Frontières, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹⁴ Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security, London, UK; Public Health England, London, UK.
¹⁵ Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security, London, UK; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Public Health England, London, UK.
¹⁶ National Institute of Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance, and Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London, UK.
¹⁷ Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy, Washington, DC, USA; Princeton Environmental Institute, Princeton, NJ, USA; Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, India.
¹⁸ Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.
¹⁹ Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway; Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA; Institute of Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: john-arne.rottingen@fhi.no.

PMID: 26603920
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00470-5

Abstract

Securing access to effective antimicrobials is one of the greatest challenges today. Until now, efforts to address this issue have been isolated and uncoordinated, with little focus on sustainable and international solutions. Global collective action is necessary to improve access to life-saving antimicrobials, conserving them, and ensuring continued innovation. Access, conservation, and innovation are beneficial when achieved independently, but much more effective and sustainable if implemented in concert within and across countries. WHO alone will not be able to drive these actions. It will require a multisector response (including the health, agriculture, and veterinary sectors), global coordination, and financing mechanisms with sufficient mandates, authority, resources, and power. Fortunately, securing access to effective antimicrobials has finally gained a place on the global political agenda, and we call on policy makers to develop, endorse, and finance new global institutional arrangements that can ensure robust implementation and bold collective action.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Anti-Infective Agents / supply & distribution
Anti-Infective Agents / therapeutic use*
Drug Resistance, Microbial*
Health Policy
Health Services Accessibility
Humans
Infection Control / methods
International Cooperation*
Population Surveillance

Substances

Anti-Infective Agents