Main Resource
A recording of this session is available below
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health threat that must be addressed and whilst this important issue is gaining the attention it deserves, journalists might still have fundamental questions during World Antibiotic Awareness Week, 18-24 November 2019.
- What exactly is AMR and why does it pose such a major global challenge?
- What is the impact of AMR within Europe and the rest of the world?
- How is it a threat to our health and our environment?
- What are we doing about it? What more needs to be done?
Antimicrobial resistance: A major global health threat
On Thursday 14 November, HCWH Europe organised an online press briefing for journalists and all interested stakeholders to answer these vital questions surrounding antimicrobial resistance. Participants were given the chance to put questions to our invited expert speakers:
Professor Dame Sally Davies, former Chief Medical Officer for England, and recently appointed UK Special Envoy on AMR who spoke about coordinated action on AMR globally and in the UK under a ‘One Health’ approach.
William Gaze, Professor of Microbiology at the University of Exeter Medical School, who shed some light on the often overlooked environmental component of AMR, particularly on the evolution and proliferation of antimicrobial resistance in the environment.
Antimicrobial resistance press kit - supporting journalists writing about AMR
HCWH Europe also produced a press kit giving background information on AMR and highlighting its environmental aspect. This kit also includes key data points and figures, quotes from leading experts, and compile significant reports on AMR to help journalists talk about the health threat of AMR. Access it here.
Speakers
Professor Dame Sally Davies, UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance and former Chief Medical Officer for England
As UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance, Professor Dame Sally represents the UK government on AMR internationally and works across all UK government departments, advising on both policy and the delivery of a ‘One Health’ response to AMR. She has recently taken on this role having previously served as Chief Medical Officer for England and Chief Medical Adviser to the UK government for eight years. She was also a co-convener of the UN Interagency Coordination Group (IACG), set up further to the 2016 UN General Assembly. She now serves as Master of Trinity College, University of Cambridge.
William Gaze, Professor of Microbiology - University of Exeter Medical School
Will is a molecular microbial ecologist with more than 15 years of experience in the evolution of antibiotic resistance in natural and farmed environments. He has a particular interest in how biocides and detergents may co-select for resistance to clinically important antibiotics. With his group of researchers, he covers fundamental issues of AMR evolution in the environment using in situ and in vivo experiments, landscape scale dissemination of AMR and human exposure and transmission studies.