Stepping up the involvement of the patient community in the fight against AMR
The European Patients’ Forum (EPF) welcomes the publication of the Commission’s proposal for a Council Recommendation on stepping up EU actions to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in a One Health approach.
Antimicrobial resistance is a vital issue for patients with chronic diseases, as they are particularly vulnerable to antimicrobial resistance because they have to spend more time in healthcare settings and because many routine healthcare procedures often require the use of antibiotics to prevent or treat infections.
EPF supports the comprehensive approach to tackling AMR outlined in the proposal, with measures focused on encouraging the prudent use of antimicrobials including through reduction targets, improving infection prevention and control, strengthening surveillance and monitoring, and improving public awareness, education and training. EPF also recalls that this proposal comes together with the revision of the EU pharmaceutical legislation, whose AMR-related measures should encourage research and development (R&D) of new antimicrobials and ensure equitable access to life-saving medicines across the EU.
However, we regret not seeing a more meaningful involvement of the patient community in the proposed Council Recommendation. We call on Member States to ensure that the patient perspective is better taken into account in the following three key areas:
- Improving health literacy;
- Raising awareness of AMR in collaboration with patient organisations;
- Including patients in incentives for innovation and access to antimicrobials.
Read our entire position statement here.