International Cooperation to Improve Access to and Sustain Effectiveness of Antimicrobials

Authors

Kevin Outterson, Boston University School of LawFollow
Christine Årdal, University of OsloFollow
Steven Hoffman, University of OttawaFollow
Abdul Ghafur, Apollo Hospital
Mike Sharland, St. George's Hospital Medical School
Nisha Ranganathan, Royal Free Hospital
Richard Smith, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Anna Zorzet, ReAct - Action on Antibiotic Resistance
Jennifer Cohn, University of Pennsylvania - Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
Didier Pittet, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine
Nils Daulaire, Georgetown University Law Center
Chantal Morel, McGill UniversityFollow
Zain Rizvi, Yale University, Law School
Manica Balasegaram
Osman Dar, Chatham House - Centre on Global Health Security
David Heymann, World Health Organization - Communicable Diseases
Alison Holmes, McGill University
Luke Moore, Imperial College London
Ramanan Laxminarayan, Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy; Princeton UniversityFollow
Marc Mendelson, University of Cape TownFollow
John-Arne Røttingen, Norwegian Knowledge Center for the Health ServicesFollow

Author granted license

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2016

ISSN

0140-6736

Publisher

Elsevier

Language

en-US

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.

Comments

Boston University School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 16-16

Recommended Citation

Kevin Outterson, Christine Årdal, Steven Hoffman, Abdul Ghafur, Mike Sharland, Nisha Ranganathan, Richard Smith, Anna Zorzet, Jennifer Cohn, Didier Pittet, Nils Daulaire, Chantal Morel, Zain Rizvi, Manica Balasegaram, Osman Dar, David Heymann, Alison Holmes, Luke Moore, Ramanan Laxminarayan, Marc Mendelson & John-Arne Røttingen, International Cooperation to Improve Access to and Sustain Effectiveness of Antimicrobials , in 387 The Lancet 296 (2016).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/92