When the United Nations Food Systems Summit convenes in New York City on September 23, 2021, the global use of antimicrobials in healthy animals promises to be high on the discussion list.
In advance of the event, the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance has called for an urgent reduction in the use of antimicrobial drugs – including antibiotics, antifungals, and anitiparsitics -- in food production. The group operates within the World Health Organization, and includes heads of state, government ministers, and private-sector representatives.
Organized in November 2020, the group has issued written priorities for preserving the effectiveness of antimicrobials for treating clinical diseases in humans and animals. They have stated countries around the world must stop the use of medically important antimicrobial drugs to promote growth in healthy animals, saying, “…all countries should eliminate the use of antimicrobials to compensate for inadequate infection prevention and control, management, and other modifiable deficiencies in management of animal and plant health.”
While using medically important antimicrobials in food-animal production has been curtailed and more highly regulated in the United States and much of Europe in recent years, not all countries globally have modified their policies or practices relative to using these products.
The co-chair of the Global Leader Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, said “the world is in a race against antimicrobial resistance, and it’s one that we cannot afford to lose.”
