Combating Antimicrobial Resistance

The Assistant Secretary of Global Affairs is designated by the Secretary for Health and Human Services to lead international engagement on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). As part of the effort, the Office of Pandemics and Emerging Threats (PET) works closely with domestic and international partners, including the G7, G20, and through the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) to support efforts to combat AMR. The Assistant Secretary also co-chairs the Transatlantic Taskforce on Antimicrobial Resistance (TATFAR), along with the Director of the European Commission Public Health Directorate.

Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most important health security threats of our time. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 2.8 million people in the United States acquire antibiotic resistant infections every year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result.
In 2014, to address the growing threat of AMR, the U.S. Government released the National Strategy for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (CARB), and Executive Order 13676 established the Federal Task Force for CARB to identify actions to implement the National Strategy. In March 2015, the Task Force released the first National Action Plan for CARB, aimed at moving the nation toward the National Strategy’s five goals through specific objectives, strategies, and milestones to be achieved within 1, 3, and 5 years. The second iteration of the National Action Plan for CARB, 2020-2025, lays out new objectives and targets to achieve the original five goals in a coordinated federal One Health approach to AMR.
The Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs leads the implementation of Goal 5 of the National Action Plan - Improve International Collaboration and Capacities for Antibiotic-resistance Prevention, Surveillance, Control, and Antibiotic Research and Prevention. In that capacity, the Office of Global Affairs (OGA) coordinates across U.S. federal agencies to determine U.S. policy and programs on international AMR issues. Further, OGA represents the United States in global negotiations with foreign ministries of health and agriculture, the Quadripartite [World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)], and other multilateral organizations that set the worldwide agenda to address AMR.
As the United States’ lead on global AMR work, the OGA leverages resources through the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), including the GHSA Action Package on AMR. Additionally, OGA led the U.S. in the negotiation and writing of the World Health Organization’s Global Action Plan on AMR and the Pan American Health Organization’s Plan of Action on AMR.

Transatlantic Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance

The Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs co-chairs the Transatlantic Taskforce on Antimicrobial Resistance (TATFAR), a multilateral collaboration among the U.S., Canada, the European Union, Norway, and the United Kingdom established to improve the cooperation on AMR. TATFAR provides a forum for collaboration and sharing of best practices to strengthen domestic and global efforts in these four Key Areas:  (1) appropriate use of antimicrobial drugs in human and veterinary medicine, (2) surveillance and prevention of AMR, (3) strategies to improve financial incentives, access, research, and development of antimicrobial drugs, diagnostics, and alternatives, and 4) cross-cutting actions to improve awareness about AMR and appropriate use of antibiotics, and to disseminate information from TATFAR.  
TATFAR leverages the knowledge and experience of some of the foremost AMR experts on both sides of the Atlantic. It is uniquely positioned to provide policymakers with evidence-based recommendations for measures that could extend the lifespan of routine antibiotics, including coordinated stewardship programs, improved diagnostics, and global surveillance systems for animal and human health.
In 2021, TATFAR members developed and adopted a new work plan for collaboration to continue through 2026.

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