EU-JAMRAI the unique place to fight AMR in both animal and human sectors

EU-JAMRAI the unique place to fight AMR in both animal and human sectors

9th November 2018

The European Commission, policymakers and partnering organizations from 27 countries met in Vienna for the first General Assembly of the Joint Action on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections (EU-JAMRAI) to present the results achieved after one year of implementation, discuss ways to reduce the burden of AMR and continue fostering synergies to keep antibiotics working.

After one year of continuous work and commitment, the EU-funded Joint Action on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections (EU-JAMRAI) met in Vienna from the 7th to the 9th of November of 2018 for its first General Assembly. The meeting assembled 44 partners from 27 countries, European and international organizations as well as stakeholders representing health professionals, industry and civil society.

Coordinated by France (INSERM and Ministry of Health) and structured into 9 Work Packages, under the responsibility of 7 different countries, EU-JAMRAI was designed to support European Union Member States develop and implement effective “One Health” policies to combat Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections (HCAI) in both animal and human sectors. EU-JAMRAI coordinator Prof. Marie-Cécile Ploy welcomed all participants reminding them that the Joint Action was created to “bridge the gap between declarations and actions and propose concrete, realistic and pragmatic solutions. EU-JAMRAI aims to give a new dimension to the AMR issue and make Europe a leader in the field, keeping in mind that AMR concerns everyone, from low to high income countries.”

Embedded in the programme of the Austrian Presidency of the European Union, the General Assembly was opened by Mrs Helena Guggenbichler, Secretary General of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection. In her introductory remarks, she recalled the audience that AMR has to be tackled at international and European levels and that initiatives such as EU-JAMRAI are key to foster synergies and achieve concrete progress.

Work packages leaders presented the progress of the different work areas giving partners, international organisations and stakeholders the chance to examine the preliminary results obtained thus far and discuss the challenges still ahead.
The meeting included a Stakeholder Forum where key international organizations such as the World Health Organization Europe (WHO Europe) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), as well as representatives from health professionals, patients and industry provided recommendations based on their experience.

In his keynote speech to the Stakeholder Forum, Mr. Martin Seychell, Deputy Director General for Health at DG Santé, urged the audience to keep AMR high on their agenda and contribute to the partners’ action in the framework of this EU-funded project which objectives are fully aligned with international and European action plans on AMR. “We should make the maximum we can with the opportunity we have (…) and ensure that best practices become standard practices.”

The Stakeholder Forum was structured in three roundtables. The first round table was moderated by Arjon Van-Hengel from DG Research and Innovation and focused on evidence informed public health policies and practices related to combating AMR and HCAI. The participants of the second round table, entitled “Training and Education” and conducted by Dominique Monnet from ECDC, strengthen the importance of putting evidence into understandable packages of communication. To finish the forum, EU-JAMRAI team presented the Joint Action “Awareness raising and communication strategy” and had the privilege to discuss it with Danilo Lo-Fo Wong from WHO Europe, Dominique Monnet from ECDC and Clare Carlisle from the European Platform for the Responsible Use of Animal Medicines (EPRUMA).

The presence and active participation of all partners and stakeholders confirmed their commitment and fuelled EU-JAMRAI with even more energy to keep working to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance and reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections. As notably reminded by Danilo Lo Fo Wong (WHO), EU-JAMRAI is the unique place where all EU Member States work hand in hand with the same objective involving all stakeholders in the AMR field from animal and human sectors.

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