Dear Minister,

As you prepare to attend the informal meeting of Ministers of Health hosted by the Polish Presidency of the European Union (EU) in Warsaw next week (24-25 March), we call on you to act on the growing crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that is already claiming the lives of tens of thousands of EU citizens each year.

Efforts from across the bloc to combat AMR have been extensive and multifaceted, with a combined  series of strategic interventions, legislative reforms, and collaborative efforts. The adoption of 2030 targets to address AMR through a One Health Approach sent a signal of the importance placed by the EU on this critical health issue and showed leadership in the face of a global crisis. A number of countries have already made significant progress against the targets, raising the expectation that they will meet or even exceed these by 2030. Evidence that the targets, while ambitious, are certainly achievable.

Yet, most Member States are still lagging behind and current rates of progress would put their target attainment in jeopardy. This highlights the need for intensified efforts and customised strategies to address specific challenges countries are facing in reducing antibiotic use.

We are therefore pleased to share with you a new report from Health Action International that puts an emphasis on the importance of continued monitoring and addressing AMR in the EU, and supports more effective action against this deadly threat. It provides an overview of the above-mentioned EU targets for key pathogens, the current AMR status at country- and EU-level, and progress towards targets for managing and containing AMR.

Finally, the report gives specific recommendations for governments to ensure that momentum is not lost in the fight against AMR, and that those Member States currently struggling to meet targets are able to focus efforts and interventions to get back on course.

Given the commitments already made by your governments, we are confident that tackling AMR will remain at the top of your agenda. Through our findings on progress made against targets, and our recommendations, we hope to contribute to this effort.

We remain at your disposal and would be happy to talk to your teams and follow up about the findings and actions emanating from this report.

Yours faithfully,

Health Action International

Download the letter to Ministers of Health (PDF)