U.S. Challenges World to Intensify Global Fight against Antibiotic Resistance

What

During the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Alex Azar, will call on leaders worldwide to commit to an unprecedented global initiative led by HHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The AMR Challenge.

A pledge to this initiative means escalating government, civil society, and private industry efforts to save lives from antibiotic resistance—one of the world’s greatest public health threats—by developing new vaccines and drugs, and improving use of and access to current antibiotics; by improving infection prevention and control; by reducing antibiotic resistance in the environment, like water and soil; and by sharing data to stay ahead of antibiotic-resistant germs.

The launch event is co-hosted by CDC and HHS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CDC Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, the UN Foundation, and the Wellcome Trust.

Why

If we don’t work together to combat this urgent threat we could live to witness a global catastrophe. Antibiotic resistance has been found in every region of the world. The time is now for every country, every industry to step up to slow down antibiotic resistance.

Who

• Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Robert Redfield, M.D., CDC Director
• Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization
• Balram Bhargava, Director-General at the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi and Secretary, Department of Health Research
• Anand Anandkumar, CEO & Managing Director of Bugworks
• Madlen Davies (emcee), journalist

When
Tuesday, Sept. 25, at 6 p.m. ET

Where
The Roosevelt Hotel
45 E. 45^th St.
New York, NY

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES