Details Of September UN High-Level Meeting On Antimicrobial Resistance

Details of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) are coming clear after the preparation of a text laying out the specifics.

UN members last week accepted a draft document A/70/L.58, dated 19 July, on the “scope, modalities, format and organization” of the meeting.

The high-level meeting will take place on 21 September. It will conclude with “concise and action-oriented” declaration for adoption by the General Assembly, according to the document.

Resistance to antibiotics has become a major issue in recent years and has risen to the highest level this year at the UN, becoming only the third health issue to be addressed at this level (following HIV/AIDS and noncommunicable diseases).

The meeting will open with statements from the General Assembly president, UN secretary-general, World Health Organization director general, UN Food and Agriculture Organization director general, and the World Organization for Animal Health director general.

These will be followed by two interactive, hour-long thematic panels with six discussants each, including three heads of state and three stakeholders. The first panel will look at addressing AMR in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The second panel will address “the multisectoral implications and implementation challenges of antimicrobial resistance in a comprehensive manner.”

At the same time as the panels, the plenary will continue, with three-minute speeches by member states and observers.

The facilitator of the consultations will lead an informal interactive dialogue with civil society adn private sector stakeholders.

All UN system entities, intergovernmental organisations with observer status, and nongovernmental organisations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council are invited to participate in the high-level meeting.

The General Assembly president will draw up a list of who can attend. Names can be objected to by member states, which will not be required to state the reason but may request it to be made known.

 

Image Credits: Wikipedia