Improved access to essential medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and devices for primary health care

The Secretariat will step up its leadership by: establishing policy dialogues with Member States; convening global and regional consultations with all relevant stakeholders to develop norms and standards on technical matters that are linked to the strategic objectives of the global action plan on antimicrobial resistance; and advocating for the incorporation of antimicrobial resistance into national United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks. The Secretariat will support countries to: incorporate antimicrobial resistance into national strategies, policies and plans, with budgets linked to achieving Sustainable Development Goal targets and national health security plans; highlight COVID-19 response and recovery measures by offering multiple entry points to address antimicrobial resistance, including by enhancing infection prevention and control, hand hygiene, water, sanitation and hygiene, and multisectoral coordination; establish the economic rationale for investments to address antimicrobial resistance through evidence-based products and promote equitable access to quality antimicrobials and diagnostics for all sections of the population; develop, cost, implement and monitor multisectoral national action plans on antimicrobial resistance, including by establishing functional national multisectoral coordination mechanisms that engage all relevant sectors; raise public awareness through targeted efforts, including through World Antimicrobial Awareness Week campaigns, the use of social media and targeted behaviour change campaigns, such as for the prescription and use of antimicrobials; establish multidisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship programmes and practices, including by developing national integrated policies and related health care worker capacity-building; adopt the WHO Access, Watch, Reserve classification in national emergency medicines lists, formularies and treatment guidelines; develop policies to address recurrent shortages of essential antibiotics and promote equitable access to quality-assured essential antibiotics and diagnostic tools; revise, develop and monitor national regulations on antimicrobial sale, use, dispensing and disposal; enhance pre-service and in-service training for health workers, and for medical and health science students, support the development of standard curriculums and promote the inclusion of women and disadvantaged sections of the population in awareness and training efforts; establish, strengthen and scale up national and regional integrated systems for antimicrobial resistance surveillance across the human, animal and environment sectors, using the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System; strengthen the capacity of microbiology laboratories and support the development of laboratory networks by means of technical skills training (through the WHO Academy), and provide support for the sustainable procurement of consumables and reagents; build operational research capacity to generate and use evidence on the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance, its impact on women and disadvantaged populations, and the health and economic impacts of interventions, as well as to help to drive innovations; track national progress against specific indicators using disaggregated data, including the antimicrobial resistance-related indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals; and sustain progress despite ongoing COVID-19 disruptions by rolling out integrated training packages to address multiple areas (e.g. antimicrobial stewardship, infection prevention and control and national action plan implementation), using e-learning modules and remote assessment tools (through the WHO Academy).