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Building on the momentum of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) this September, the Fourth Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on AMR was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 15-16, 2024.
Hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Health, Fahad bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel, the conference brought together ministers and experts from the health, environment, and agriculture sectors representing 57 countries, alongside 450 participants from UN organisations.
Under the theme From Declaration to Implementation – Accelerating Actions Through Multisectoral Partnerships for the Containment of AMR, the event addressed critical challenges impeding progress in the fight against AMR and focused on systematic solutions.
A key highlight of the conference was the adoption of the Jeddah Commitments, a comprehensive framework for global action to combat AMR through a One Health approach. These commitments aim to translate the commitments outlined in the Political Declaration of the High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance into actionable steps, focusing on strengthening governance, stewardship, surveillance, capacity development, research and development, manufacturing, access, and disposal to address AMR challenges.
“I am proud to confirm approval of the Jeddah Commitments by member states at the 4th Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on AMR. Together, we will combat antimicrobial resistance and safeguard global health”, stated Al-Jalajel on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Key actions outlined in the Jeddah Commitments include establishing an Independent Panel for Evidence on Action Against AMR by 2025, creating operational national AMR coordination mechanisms, and promoting global data sharing through platforms such as GLASS AMR/AMC, ANIMUSE, and INFARM. The commitments also emphasise adherence to Codex Alimentarius Commission guidelines and codes of practice to ensure the prudent and responsible use of antimicrobials.
The commitments further include the establishment of the One Health AMR Learning Hub, which will focus on sharing best practices and building capabilities for implementing multisectoral National Action Plans on AMR. They also propose creating a Regional Antimicrobial Access and Logistics Hub to foster sustainable procurement and ensure access to safe and effective antimicrobials. Additionally, global leaders called for increased investment in research, innovation, and the sustainable manufacturing of antimicrobials and diagnostics.
The two-day conference engaged global stakeholders in panel discussions and interactive sessions to explore best practices, recommendations, and innovative strategies to contain AMR. It also provided a platform for fostering collaboration, sharing knowledge, and accelerating action to mitigate AMR risks.
India’s Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Singh Patel, represented India at the conference. Patel highlighted India’s proposals, including strengthening AMR detection and surveillance capacities across sectors, prioritising sustainable financing and research investments to enhance governance, and supporting the creation of the AMR Multi-Partner Trust Fund and the Independent Panel on Evidence for Action by 2025.
“India also stresses the importance of addressing barriers to the access and affordability of antimicrobials, diagnostics, and vaccines in developing nations, especially in Low- and Middle-Income Countries,” she said in a press statement.
Speaking as a part of a panel on stewardship and surveillance on the first day, Sunita Narain, Director General of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), highlighted the growing understanding of interlinkages and the deconstruction of action agendas necessary for impactful AMR interventions.
Narain underscored the urgent need to conserve critically important antimicrobials by prioritising their use and ensuring alternatives so that those are not used in food crop systems.
She stressed on three key interconnected agendas, which are the development agenda to promote sustainable food production and livestock management practices that eliminate reliance on growth promoters, prevention agenda to build food systems that do not depend on antimicrobial use and improve water supply systems to reduce contamination, and the environmental agenda to minimise waste and reduce environmental contamination with antimicrobials.
“We must prevent, prevent, prevent to make growth more inclusive”, she stated, urging the global community to take immediate action.
Narain also commented on how simple yet transformative interventions could become fundamental levers of change such as access to clean water, sanitation, and nutritious food, alongside affordable alternatives for farmers to reduce their dependence on antimicrobials. She also emphasised that surveillance systems for AMR must be smart, nimble and capable of joining the dots instead of looking through a single lens.
“We are no longer talking about the problem; we are actually at a time when we are together in understanding that we have an agenda to move ahead not just in human health, but in One Health,” she said, calling it the right time to measure the progress we have made and to move forward.
The Jeddah meeting concluded with a call on all Member States to commit to their pledges and work towards achieving the goals set out in the UN General Assembly Political Declaration on Antimicrobial Resistance by 2030. The next Ministerial Summit to take stock of implementable initiatives and progress made will be hosted by Nigeria in 2026.