Antimicrobial Resistance as a Global Health Threat: The Need to Learn Lessons from the COVID‐19 Pandemic

Abstract

The global COVID‐19 pandemic has exacerbated existing health, social, and economic challenges and threatened progress towards achieving the UN sustainable development goals. We discuss lessons learned from the COVID‐19 pandemic for global policymaking for health security governance, with a particular focus on antimicrobial resistance. We identify One Health as the primary foundation of public health risk management owing to the collaborative, multidisciplinary, and multisectoral efforts that underpin the One Health approach and that enhance understanding of the complex interactions at the human–animal–environment interface. We discuss the narrow human‐centric focus of the One Health approach, highlight the underrepresentation of the environmental sector in One Health networks, and encourage greater representation from the environmental sector. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of the social sciences for health security research and the need for effective communication and trust. Finally, we underscore the importance of strengthened and collaborative health, social care, and disaster management systems. The application of these lessons will facilitate holistic, multisectoral, collaborative, and ethical actions on antimicrobial resistance.

Editorial: Technological strategies to improve animal health and production

“…This strategy to improve livestock production, even if used at a subtherapeutic level of antibiotics, had an important role in enhancing livestock production for many years. However, since this practice led to a sanitary emergency associated with antibiotic resistance of animals and important human pathogens, it has been globally discontinued ( 9 , 10 ).…”

Antimicrobial resistance in the real world (AMR)

“…Agreement was reached on the research questions due to the respective knowledge associated with the partners' different disciplinary lenses on the problem of AMR in the environment. Since antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a major global health threat, as well as a major hazard, to sustainable economic development and national security, it was vital to align to current policy development and implementation to alleviate a potential crisis (Cameron et al, 2022). The research team considered, for example, whether drivers of antibiotic resistance have already accumulated in the past, and whether they can be controlled in the future.…”

Strengthening a collaborative approach to implementing surveillance systems: Lessons from the Enhanced Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Programme (EGASP) in Malawi and Zimbabwe

“…Lack of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance further threatens the progress of achieving the United Nations' (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to ensure access to safe and affordable medicines and vaccines for all (6)(7)(8). Health systems are weakened by a high disease burden, threatening the countries' economies as productive populations spend more time in hospitals (9). Most Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries rely on syndromic management of STIs due to limited access to diagnostic assays (10)(11)(12).…”