2018

News

ReAct Africa: 3 highlights in 2018

During 2018 ReAct Africa helped putting antibiotic resistance on the agenda in the African region by engaging various countries and organizations in the region. This by giving technical and financial support to three African countries developing their National Action Plans on AMR, by holding two important regional stake holder forums and by engaging civil society during World Antibiotic Awareness Week.

News

ReAct Asia Pacific: 3 highlights in 2018

2018 ends on a high note for ReAct Asia Pacific thanks to exciting new initiatives on antimicrobial resistance in the southern Indian state of Kerala together with a steady expansion of the campaign to curb antibiotics in food-animal production in south and south-east Asia.

News

ReAct Europe: 3 highlights in 2018

End 2018 ReAct Europe asked an expert group – how should urgently needed work on antimicrobial resistance be funded? This resulted in a new meeting report whichj will feed into the ongoing discussions on future global governance for antimicrobial resistance. The ReAct Toolbox, formed an international advisory group and held an expert workshop. During the year ReAct Europe contributed to multiple joint civil society statements, public consultations, policy dialogues, convenings and meetings to lift the voice of civil society and of low- and middle-income countries on the global policy scene.

News

ReAct Latin America: 3 lighlights in 2018

ReAct Latin America engages the whole community in the region – from politicians to children – and this work has been ongoing during 2018. The educational material “The Educational Saddlebag” was promoted via workshops in the region, the creative awareness raising activities during World Antibiotic Awareness week are pillars in the regional work and ReAct Latin America continues its work to change the narrative – that bacteria are essential for humans, animals and the world.

News

ReAct North America: 3 highlights in 2018

In 2018, ReAct North America lifted the voice of civil society on the global scene by mobilizing the Antibiotic Resistance Coalition and its civil society partners, trained a next generation of future leaders and champions of AMR by running the inaugural Innovate4AMR competition, and brought attention to the issue of antibiotic use in animal-food production during its Globalizing Food Campaigns conference.

News

How should urgently needed work on antimicrobial resistance be funded? Meeting report from workshop with experts on AMR and global health

The consequences of antimicrobial resistance will negatively affect and potentially jeopardize the progress and achievement of sustainable development. In December 2018, ReAct and the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation hosted a meeting in Uppsala, Sweden, inviting around 20 experts in the field of antimicrobial resistance and global health, to discuss funding for the global crisis of antimicrobial resistance.

ReAct Interview

Peter Yeboah - from rural Ghana to representing 41 organizations in 30 countries - engaging in antibiotic resistance

Peter Yeboah, Chairman and Executive Director, is an optimist. He thinks recent experiences with epidemic outbreaks in Africa demonstrate that global health security lies in strengthening sub-Saharan African health systems.

Science

What is appropriate, rational and prudent antibiotic use?

Appropriate, rational or prudent use of antibiotics are widely used terms when discussing the causes of and remedies for antibiotic resistance. Much like the term One Health, appropriateness of antibiotic use is intuitively appealing – its meaning seems obvious and most people would say that one should not use antibiotics inappropriately. But still we see a lot of misuse of antibiotics all over the world, so either there are many people who simply do not care about appropriate use of antibiotics, or perhaps the meaning is not so obvious as it first seems.

News

Innovate4AMR: Meet the eleven winning teams and their innovative projects

Innovate4AMR is a global online competition inviting student teams from around the world to design innovative solutions for antimicrobial stewardship in resource-limited healthcare settings. Meet the winning teams from Peru, India, Uganda, Honduras, Nigeria, Canada, the Philippines, the USA and China and learn about their innovative projects.

News

ReAct highlights during World Antibiotic Awareness Week 2018

During World Antibiotic Awareness Week, ReAct Africa, ReAct Asia Pacific and ReActLatin America arranged about 40 activities to raise awareness and to change behavior in Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Ecuador and Argentina. We also published a few articles. Learn more about the ReAct WAAW highlights.

Opinion

Sustainable investments in solutions to address antibiotic resistance

Investing to deliver on the objectives of the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance is urgently needed. The return of economic and health investments in managing antimicrobial resistance will be large and are needed across several sectors to minimize the negative impact of antimicrobial resistance.

News

Animal drug companies fueling antibiotic resistance

A steady rise in per capita income, growing urban population and falling retail prices of chicken meat have made poultry production one of the fastest growing segments of the agricultural sector in India today. As a result, India is now the world’s fifth largest egg producer and the eighteenth largest producer of broilers. All this rapid expansion has however come at a high cost. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics, for growth promotion in particular in other words to ‘fatten chicken’, is fueling antibiotic resistance in the country.

ReAct Interview

WAAW: Stefan Swartling Peterson, Unicef: strong health systems key to prevent infections and spread of antibiotic resistance

Anger and fascination for the “know-do gap” led Stefan Swartling Peterson, Chief of Health, @UNICEF, into global health. He sees strong health systems as key to prevent infections and spread of #AntibioticResistance. Read new interview!

News

WAAW: Four take-aways from the WHO consumption report

On the first day of the World Antibiotic Awareness Week, WHO released the first global surveillance report on antimicrobial consumption. Read article, where we present four take-aways from the report to provide some overview and help with reading and interpreting the report.

News

WAAW: Innovate4AMR: workshop for 11 finalist teams from 9 countries with WHO in Geneva

During World Antibiotic Awareness Week the online competition Innovate4AMR holds its workshop for finalists with WHO in Geneva. The finalist teams will have the opportunity to meet with health experts and make connections with groups who could help operationalize their proposed solution.

News

WAAW: ReAct Asia Pacific holds the second edition of photography contest

ReAct Asia Pacific organized a photography contest for students to commemorate the World Antibiotic Awareness Week 2018. This was the second edition of the contest – and this year it was made sweeter with the addition of a separate Short Movie competition.

News

WAAW: National AMR Symposium in Kenya

The third, and without a doubt, the most important activity of the World Antibiotic Awareness Week in Kenya, was the National Antimicrobial Resistance Symposium.

News

WAAW: New book from ReAct Latin America! Food as medicine, the kitchen as a pharmacy

In connection to World Antibiotic Awareness Week and World Food Day , ReAct Latin America and San Isidro Institute launched the book “Food as medicine, the kitchen as a pharmacy”.

News

WAAW: Song, dance and debate mark WAAW in Thailand

A rap song and dance contest, colorful exhibitions, video releases and detailed discussions on national policy marked the observance of the World Antibiotic Awareness Week in Thailand.

News

ReAct activities for World Antibiotic Awareness Week 2018

As previous years, ReAct will focus on regional activities for World Antibiotic Awareness Week in 2018. ReAct Africa, ReAct Asia Pacific and ReAct Latin America arrange a series of activities to raise awareness among general public, media, students, policy makers and health care personnel.

News

Combating antimicrobial resistance in Africa to achieve the 2030 Agenda

Beginning November ReAct Africa hosted its 3rd annual conference. This regional conference brought together 67 participants from 22 African countries. A truly One Health representation, the conference had almost equal representation from the human health, animal health, agriculture and environment sectors. Read about takeaways from the conference.

Opinion

UNCTAD and WHO focus in on investments for development of new antibiotics

During the World Investment Forum 2018, UNCTAD and WHO jointly organized an event on ‘Fostering investments in the development of new antibacterial treatments.

The event focused on promoting partnerships between funders and developers, where efforts and attention should be focused in the R&D process and how actors such as UNCTAD can bring relevant actors together to devise solutions to the current challenges in antibiotic discovery, research and development.

News

Increasing burden of antibiotic resistant infections - new data that require action

A new study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases reports an increase in the burden of antibiotic resistant infections in the EU/EEA. Now 33000 people die annually from antibiotic resistant bacterial infections, an increase from 10 years ago. In Europe, the burden is actually comparable to that from HIV, TB and influenza combined.

News

Kerala, India: launch of the 1st sub-national action plan on AMR

The state of Kerala became the first Indian state to launch an Action Plan for containing Antimicrobial Resistance. The action plan is aimed at giving a strategic direction to the various activities undertaken to tackle antimicrobial resistance in the state. The action plan is truly “One-Health” in its approach and was developed through a collaborative exercise involving human, non-human and environment sectors.

News

Upcoming ReAct Africa Conference focuses on AMR and Agenda 2030 within the African context

ReAct Africa will hold a conference 5-7 November in Nairobi, Kenya, on the theme, “Combating Antimicrobial Resistance in Africa to achieve the 2030 Agenda.” Mirfin Mpundu, Head of ReAct Africa says:

“We are excited to welcome participants to Kenya for this year’s conference. I am convinced that antimicrobial resistance threatens the achievements and work is yet to be done to deliver the Agenda 2030 goals.”

Opinion

Member States engagement needed to shape future action on antibiotic resistance

Member States engagement needed to shape future action on antibiotic resistance. Where do we stand on the path towards the UN General Assembly 2019 where antimicrobial resistance will be on the agenda?

Science

What’s cooking in the antibiotic pipeline?

For years, ReAct has talked about the discovery void: the fact that no truly new antibiotics have been discovered and reached the market since the 1980’s. Unfortunately, this still holds true for non-TB antibiotics, although there may be some hope to be found in the most recent pipeline analyses.

News

Hygiene, water and bacteria – exhibition with award winning photographers and Otto Cars as expert

The Swedish award-winning photographers Paul Hansen and Åsa Sjöström take on the threat of multiresistant bacteria in the new exhibition “Hand to Hand” at Fotografiska, a well-renowned museum in Sweden. Otto Cars, ReAct is included in the exhibition as an expert on infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance.

Opinion

Part 1: Intervention at the Member State consultation on the Global Framework for Development & Stewardship to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance

Intervention on the discussion on the draft framework Chapter 1 and 2 focuses on related overarching questions, scope, objectives & goals, the legal form, and the relationship with the Global action plan on AMR and the IACG.

Opinion

Part 2: Intervention at the Member State consultation on the Global Framework for Development & Stewardship to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance

Intervention on the discussion on the draft framework Chapter 3-5 focuses on Research and Development to foster access, Access and stewardship policies, Environmental aspects of antimicrobial resistance.

Opinion

Part 3: Intervention at the Member State consultation on the Global Framework for Development & Stewardship to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance

Intervention on the discussion on Annex 1 and 2 focuses on Annex 1 and 2, including Selected Financing Mechanisms and the current R&D Landscape, and and overall discussion of the way forward with the work on the framework.

Science

7 ways penicillin has cured the world for 90 years

As we celebrate the 90th anniversary of the discovery of penicillin, it is appropriate to take a look at the current state of modern medicine since the discovery penicillin and the other antibiotics that followed. Here are seven ways that penicillin changed modern medicine.

Science

One Health – working together for improved antibiotic use

One Health is often used as a buzzword – a word that evokes reactions and feels intuitively positive. Unfortunately, it is often poorly defined and understood. One attempt to define it is as a connectivity. The health of humans is connected to the health of animals and plants and vice versa. We all share this space, whether we call it a biome, ecosystem or Mother Earth.

ReAct Interview

Dr. Revathi, Kenya on the WHO essential diagnostics list and what it means for Africa

In May of 2018, the WHO released the first-ever list of essential diagnostics to improve diagnosis and treatment outcomes to the delight of many champions of antimicrobial resistance across the globe. In Africa, the release of this list was particularly exciting to one doctor in Nairobi, Kenya, who has long been an advocate for the development of such a list.

News

CGIAR collaboration for the ReAct Toolbox

In the beginning of September, ReAct welcomed a group of researchers from the CGIAR network to Uppsala, Sweden for a workshop for the ReAct Toolbox. Together, we worked to identify existing resources and example case studies to inspire and facilitate action on antibiotic use and resistance in the farming sector.

Opinion

Antibiotic Resistance Coalition, including ReAct, responds to IACG discussion papers

During the summer the UN Interagency Coordination Group (IACG) released six discussion papers for public consultation to solicit feedback on the work of IACG to inform its future deliberations. Members of the Antibiotic Resistance Coalition (ARC), including ReAct, convened to discuss and submitted responses to the first set of discussion papers.

Opinion

Antibiotic Resistance Coalition, including ReAct, responds to the second round of IACG discussion papers

The Antibiotic Resistance Coalition (ARC) has again convened to review the second round of papers released by the UN Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (IACG). Earlier we shared the key takeaways from the responses on the first set of discussion papers, and here we summarize the main messages of the ARC responses to the second set of three papers.

Opinion

Six key points from ReAct on the provisional work plan for the Global AMR R&D Hub

The Global AMR R&D Hub, an initiative established under the Germany Presidency of G20, and launched in conjuction with the World Health Assembly in Geneva earlier this year. The aim of the hub, according to their own vision, is “to promote high-level coordination among governments and upstream funders from different world regions, in order to better align national and international efforts in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR).”

Science

Ethical considerations regarding infection prevention control

The prospect of increasing spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria in hospitals and other health care facilities has made taking measures to prevent spread of infection even more important. The ethical implications of such measures are however all too often not taken into consideration.

News

Innovate4AMR - innovate for a world free from the fear of untreatable infections

Innovate4AMR invites student teams from around the world to design innovative solutions for antimicrobial stewardship in resource-limited, healthcare settings. Proposals can be submitted until September 17!

News

Latin America: One Health workshop for teachers

This Summer ReAct Latin America arranged a workshop on training teachers how to use the educational material called the Alforja Educativa, the “Educational Saddlebag”, a set of material produced for children to learn more about the bacterial world and resistance, all with a One Health approach. It was a very practical workshop where the participants worked with children.

News

Kerala, India: perspective of farmers and use of antibiotics in their aquaculture farms

Over two dozen aquaculture farmers in the southern Indian province of Kerala joined a one-day workshop organized by ReAct Asia Pacific. The group discussion at the workshop yielded rich information on the perspectives of farmers, towards the use of antibiotics in aquaculture farms. They also took a pledge to follow “10 Commandments” of appropriate use of antibiotics.

News

Obstacles to appropriate use of antibiotics in spite of diagnostic capacity

A common obstacle for appropriate use of antibiotics is often said to be lack of diagnostic tests that can either verify or rule out a bacterial infection, as uncertainty drives use of antibiotics “just in case”. But even if a diagnostic test is available it needs to be used and be relied upon by physicians and patients.

Opinion

Despite Industry AMR Declaration commitments Sanofi quits R&D on anti-infectives

Sanofi announced last week that they are shedding off their anti-infectives Research & Development unit. This is surprising as Sanofi was a leading partner of the AMR Industry Alliance and raises questions on the level of commitments made. With big pharmaceutical companies outsourcing Research & Development, it sparks the need to ensure that incentives models target the actors actually involved in Research & Development.

News

ReAct represented at the second Technical Consultation on AMR and Behavior Change organized by WHO

The World Health Organization’s AMR Secretariat organized a consultation meeting on behavior change in antimicrobial resistance, on 6-7 June 2018 in Geneva. Dr. Philip Mathew, ReAct Asia Pacific , represented the network at the meeting.

News

Professor Anthony So appointed Co-convener of the UN IACG on AMR

Professor Anthony So, Director of the ReAct Strategic Policy Program and Head of ReAct North America and of the IDEA (Innovation + Design Enabling Access) Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is appointed Co-convener of the United Nations Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance by the United Nations Secretary General.

News

Ghana's National Action Plan on AMR – ReAct Africa supports the process

Ghana’s road to the development of a Cabinet approved National Policy and National Action Plan on AMR started in February 2011 when there was a call to action: to be champions and advocates to tackle antimicrobial resistance at a two-day workshop organized with support from ReAct. ReAct has been engaged in the process from there on.

ReAct Interview

Associate Professor Mattias Larsson on the challenges of antibiotic resistance in Vietnam

Mattias Larsson is a Swedish Associate Professor working in Vietnam. Professor Larsson expresses his concern and says it is a worrying situation in the country. In his research project they found increasing levels of resistance and high levels of colonization with Gram negative bacteria resistant to almost all available antibiotics.

Sciene

Research project in Vietnam: results indicate very high rates of resistance to most antibiotics

In 2016-2017, ReAct supported a research project in Vietnam on preserving efficacy of last-line antibiotics. Results indicate very high rates of resistance to most antibiotics, including carbapenems.

News

Thirty civil society groups met to find strategies on antibiotic resistance - resulted in input to IACG meeting

Mid May, members of the ARC Coalition and other civil society partners convened in Geneva for a conference. ReAct was one of the organizers. A key decision point that emerged was the need for concerted civil society input into the IACG meeting end May.

News

New ideas and strategies for continued action in Latin America

La Paz, Bolivia, was the venue for the International Workshop Seminar “Understanding Antimicrobials, Caring for the Health of Mother Earth, Healing Us”, in mid May, held by ReAct Latin America. The five day long workshop resulted in definitions and strategies for onward action on antibiotic resistance.

Opinions

Mass administration of antibiotics does not solve the root cause of child mortality in Africa

According to UNICEF, the estimated mortality rate in children under 5 years in sub-Saharan Africa in 2016 was 78.4 deaths per 1000 live births. We all share a responsibility to reduce these mortality rates, but how?

Opinion

71st WHA: tuberculosis multisectoral accountability framework - parallels with the antibiotic resistance debate

In September a high-level meeting on tuberculosis will take place during the UN General Assembly. In preparation fhe World Health Assembly will adopt a resolution which includes the proposal for a multisectoral accountability framework. There are parallels between the accountability framework and the antibiotic resistance debate.

News

ReAct Europe keynote speaker at side event at 71st World Health Assembly

Wednesday, Thomas Tängdén, Medical Director, ReAct Europe, was one of the keynote speakers at one of the side events at 71st World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. Theme: “Establishing antibiotic efficacy as a global public good”.

News

71st World Health Assembly - antibiotic resistance absent from the agenda

This week is the week of the 71st World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. While antibiotic resistance is not specifically on the agenda this year, the general work programme for the WHO covers antimicrobial resistance and other relevant topics related to access to medicines will be discussed.

Opinion

Rise in global antibiotic consumption between 2000 and 2015 – what can we learn from the latest study?

According to a recent publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, global antibiotic consumption in humans has increased dramatically from 2000 to 2015. The study rings a bell on the complex challenges posed by underuse, misuse and overuse of antibiotics.

Opinion

Towards stronger global governance for AMR

As global attention and political will to address the rising tide of antibiotic resistance has increased over the last years, and a wider range of actors starting to become involved in the field, the urgency of developing global governance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is growing.

News

ReAct Latin America: A workshop to reach commitments

Mid May, La Paz, Bolivia, will host the International Workshop Seminar “Understanding Antimicrobial Resistance, Caring the Health of Mother Earth, Healing Us”.

An event that brings together professionals from Bolivia, El Salvador, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Australia and Sweden, to address antibiotic resistance from a One Health perspective.

ReAct Interview

Caring about antibiotic resistance is similar with reducing the plastic waste or saving water

“Caring about antibiotic resistance is similar to reducing plastic waste or saving water”, says Dr. Windhi Kresnawati. She is a pediatrician and has worked in a remote area in Indonesia for the past 4 years. During this time she managed to engage various stakeholders to support and participate in a series of activities to raise their awareness on antibiotic resistance.

ReAct Africa shares experiences on CSO engagement at 71st World Health Assembly

This 71st session of the World Health Assembly offers a unique space for health specialists, in a multitude of areas affecting global health and its future, to interact, share and learn. At this year’s assembly, Mirfin Mpundu, Head of React Africa, contributed to a side brainstorming event for civil society with the title: “AMR Control: Are We Off Track?”

Opinion

Antibiotics in wastewater from pharmaceutical companies: Where are we at?

Over the last years pharmaceutical companies made commitments for change and curbing antibiotic waste has been voiced as one of their top priorities. This year we grab the opportunity at World Water Day to look where we are at now: Have pharmaceutical companies taken action on their own commitments? And how are governments tackling this issue?

News

Book release in Latin America: an arena for reflection, awareness and care about antibiotics

To analyze the consequences of antibiotic resistance and possibilities of containing antibiotic resistance ReAct Latin America arranged an event at the University of Cuenca, Ecuador, releasing the book Madre Tierra: Una Sola Salud, in commemoration of World Health Day.

News

Unavailability of old antibiotics is threatening effective treatment of common bacterial infections

In a commentary in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, leading experts from ReAct and other key stakeholder groups discuss the increasing problem with lack of availability of essential antibiotics.

News

Why are fixed dose combinations of antibiotics generally not a good idea?

Fixed dose combinations are pharmaceutical products such as tablets, ointments or suspensions where two or more antibiotics are combined in one product. In the treatment of Tuberculosis and HIV, they are vital for treatment success as they improve compliance and reduce development of resistance. In theory, it sounds like a good idea to copy this success to other bacteria and antibiotic resistance, but in practice it is generally not so.

News

New expert advisory group for the ReAct Toolbox

ReAct is very glad to announce the establishment of an expert advisory group for our web-based Toolbox for action on antibiotic resistance. The advisory group is composed of renowned experts from the antibiotic resistance field.

Policy

ReAct reflections on the Prince Mahidol Award Conference and the IACG Civil Society Engagement Panel

Given the strong emphasis on antimicrobial resistance, several people from ReAct joined the conference and discussions on sustainable solutions to contain antibiotic resistance. Antimicrobial resistance was at the top of the agenda, and for the first time at a high-level conference prominently discussed as an emerging infectious disease.

News

From the Regional Stakeholders’ Summit in Cape Town: 4 needs to address so diagnostics can help contain antimicrobial resistance

How can diagnostics contribute to contain antimicrobial resistance? That was the main question during the Regional Stakeholders’ Summit in Cape Town end January. ReAct Africa has summarized a list of the most mentioned needs that need to be attended to.

News

4 take aways from the newly published GLASS report

End January, the first report from the WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS) was released. ReAct summarizes 4 take aways from the report.

Opinion

ReAct responds to final report from DRIVE-AB

The DRIVE-AB consortium has worked to develop recommendations on how to change the innovation system to revitalize the antibiotic pipeline, while ensuring sustainable use and access. Now it published their final report. Anna Zorzet, Head of ReAct Europe, says:

“Ensuring affordable and sustainable access to new antibiotics without risking excess in all countries should be at the crux of the R&D financing discussions – not placed as an afterthought.”

News

WHO proposes new sepsis target to guide work and actions on antibiotic resistance

January 22-27, the WHO will hold its 142nd meeting of the Executive Board in Geneva. The discussions are likely to be dominated by the draft General Work Program for 2019-2023. A new target on reducing sepsis cases by 10% is introduced as a benchmark for the field of antibiotic resistance.

News

Antibiotic resistance on agenda for The Prince Mahidol Award Conference: A policy stage led by low and middle income countries

Under the theme “Making the World Safe from the Threats of Emerging Infectious Diseases”, this year’s Prince Mahidol Award Conference (PMAC) 2018 will give the challenge of antibiotic resistance prominent attention. ReAct will have several people attending the conference to present and engage in the discussions.

Opinion

Joint letter to IACG on AMR: A call to increase transparency and civil society involvement

ReAct, together with other members of the Antibiotic Resistance Coalition (ARC) has written a joint letter to the UN Inter-Agency Coordination Group (IACG) on Antimicrobial Resistance to call on the group to increase the transparency of, and civil society involvement in, its policy deliberation and meeting process.

News

Costing National Action Plans on AMR: Practical suggestions for simplifying the process

Costing a country’s National Action Plan on AMR appears to be a daunting and challenging task. As Dr. Kim Faure has great experience on costing National Action Plans on AMR ReAct interviewed her to help countries with som practical steps in the process.

Opinion

ReAct wishes for 2018 – node by node

We would like to thank you for 2017 with wishes for an exciting 2018!

Here you find ReAct wishes for 2018, node by node. Together we can make a difference.