2.2 One Health

AMR is a global threat not only to human health, but also to the health of animals, plants and ecosystems. We live in a connected world and AMR does not need to carry a passport to travel from one area to another. AMR bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) can spread and transmit within and between humans, animals, plants and the environment.

In 2023, the Quadripartite developed a research agenda to guide One Health AMR research for investment, research activities and planning for countries and funders. The five priority research areas highlighted were:

• transmission
• integrated surveillance
• interventions
• behavioural insights and change
• economics and policy.

The underlying strategic objectives were to:

• improve the understanding of AMR transmission
• strengthen the evidence base for interventions
• collectively use this evidence to advocate for the prioritisation of AMR mitigation and to inform policy.

Burden estimates – including proportion of resistance, frequency of cases, deaths or mortality due to AMR, monetary costs due to AMR, and production loss due to AMR – serve to benchmark and monitor progress towards these objectives.