Geneva, 18 November 2022: GARDP warmly welcomes the G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration and the recent G20 Health Ministers’ Call to Action on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which underscore the need to develop new antibiotics for drug-resistant infections and enhance surveillance of drug-resistant pathogens.   

The G20 health ministers’ statement recognizes GARDP’s contribution to tackling AMR and calls for renewed engagement with GARDP and other research and development organizations working to develop new antibacterial treatments, diagnostics and vaccines to protect the health of people, animals and the environment.   

“There is a dangerous increase of drug-resistant infections spreading around the world with devasting consequences on the health of humans, animals and the environment,” said Peter Beyer, GARDP’s Deputy Executive Director. “GARDP salutes the G20’s leadership in taking a holistic approach to this global crisis. We remain fully committed to countering AMR by working with partners to develop and make accessible new treatments for drug-resistant infections and to ensure their appropriate use.” 

The G20 health ministers “encourage voluntary financing to close GARDP’s funding gap to facilitate the ‘5 by 25’ Initiative to deliver five new treatments by 2025.” GARDP addresses the most urgent threats to public health by developing treatments for sepsis and serious bacterial infections in adults, children and newborns, as well as for sexually transmitted infections.  

The G20 statement also recognized AMR as an important element of pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and cited “the SECURE initiative by WHO and GARDP to establish a relevant product portfolio of antibiotics driven by public health needs.” 

SECURE – the Antibiotic Facility aims to fill a critical gap by enabling participating countries to ensure that their populations have sustainable and affordable access to treatments that address their public health needs. GARDP recently received seed funding for SECURE from Wellcome and the Canadian government. Plans are underway to launch SECURE in an initial set of participating countries in 2024.  

The G20 health ministers highlight that antimicrobial resistance is one of the top ten global public health threats. If left unchecked it will undermine many of the health and development advances of modern medicine and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.