On Friday 18 November, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), known as the Quadripartite, will launch the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform.

The launch is an anchor event of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2022<https://www.fao.org/antimicrobial-resistance/world-antimicrobial-awareness-week/en/>, which runs from 18 to 24 November under the theme of “Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance Together”.

The AMR Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform is an international and inclusive multi-stakeholder venue that aims to bring together voices across the human, animal, plant and environment sectors to preserve antimicrobials in common cause and ensure their responsible use.

AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial agents. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents become ineffective and infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.

The Platform aims to create a global movement for change on AMR and raise awareness of the role everyone should play in tackling it, as well as highlighting the importance of a collaborative One Health approach.

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu, UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WOAH Director-General Monique Eloit will participate in the launch of the Platform at a virtual event on Friday 18 November from 13:00 to 14:30 CET.

Register here<https://fao.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GXVQ7REXT8uBtqwsYYpuqA>.

Drug-resistant diseases directly cause 1.3 million human deaths annually and are indirectly associated with 5 million deaths. If nothing is done, drug-resistant diseases could kill 10 million people a year by 2050.

Resistance is largely driven by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics and other antimicrobials in people, animals and plants. The agrifood sector is one of the most affected by antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms, leading to economic losses, declining livestock production, poverty, hunger and malnutrition, especially in low and middle-income countries.

In the context of World AMR Awareness Week journalists and media actors are also invited to participate in a Global Media Forum at 10:00 CET on 16 November to have a direct interface with senior experts from FAO, UNEP, WHO and WOAH.

Register here<https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEscOuurz4qGdV2iwvstncrQzBDdU9JIr0H>.