Background

Past and present efforts to strengthen health systems have tended to neglect measures to ensure access to appropriate antibiotic treatment of infections. And yet, if UHC is to be achieved by 2030 – the target for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – it is important that we understand the close links between UHC and AMR.

In many countries, people living in poverty live in environments that put them at higher risk of being unwell, including from infectious diseases contracted through contaminated water or exposure to others who are sick. Many die from treatable infectious diseases because health services are unavailable or too expensive.

As a result of poor access to health services, people seek health care in large unregulated, informal, and less expensive markets. These health care providers often lack sufficient medical knowledge, and sell drugs, including antibiotics, to make a living.

Under these circumstances, widespread inappropriate use of antimicrobials is combined with inadequate access to them, especially for poor people. These practices may increase the risk of drug resistance, leading to infections becoming more difficult to treat and making surgical procedures much riskier.

Since resistant organisms can move freely across national borders, national and regional responses are required that involve government and non-government actors.

Conference Objectives

The two day meeting in Tokyo

• brings together officials with responsibilities for AMR and UHC and other stakeholders from Asia and Europe to explore the challenges they face in both ensuring access to antibiotic treatment, when needed, and reducing the risk of AMR;
• identifies practical strategies for integrating a concern for AMR into strategies for making progress towards UHC and for taking UHC strategies into account in national action plans for addressing AMR;
• seeks agreement on priorities for international cooperation between Asia and Europe to support an equitable and sustainable approach for addressing the challenge of infectious diseases.

The event is covered in more detail on the IDS Website