Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is causing widespread disruption, with approximately 1.27 million estimated annual deaths directly linked to AMR, as a British medical journal reported in 2022. AMR has been called a “silent pandemic” and “The next threat after COVID-19.” The lack of progress in developing new antimicrobials has revealed the necessity of international cooperation and the importance of pursuing a One Health approach among G7 members and the global community. It should be noted that countries acting alone cannot fully implement infectious disease control and that each country’s interests are adjacent to those of the rest of the world.

Looking to the UN High-Level Meeting in 2024, discussions were center on determining the direction and specific measures required, involving stakeholders from government, industry, academia, and civil society. The focus was on identifying the antibiotic research and development innovation engine.

*Discussion points from this expert meeting will be published in due course.

[Event Overview]

• Date & Time: Tuesday, April 23, 2024, from 18:00 to 20:00 JST
• Venue: Global Business Hub Tokyo *In-person attendance only; no online participation is available
  (1 Chome-9-2 Otemachi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo, JAPAN 100-0004)
• Language: Japanese and English, with simultaneous interpretation

[Program] (titles omitted; in no particular order) 

18:00-18:10	Opening Remarks
	Yasuhisa Shiozaki (Member of the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance/ Former Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan) Drew Ferguson (The United States House of Representative)
18:10-18:20	Explanatory Introduction
	Ryoji Noritake (CEO, Board Member, Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI)) Yui Kohno (Manager, HGPI)
18:20-19:50	Discussion “Race Against Resistance – What Will Happen When Drug Resistance Spreads?”
	(All speakers and attendees at the venue) Designated Remarks: Norio Ohmagari (Director, AMR Clinical Reference Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM)) Keiji Okinaka (Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases (ID) and Infection Control and Prevention section, National Cancer Center Hospital East (NCCHE) / Staff, Division of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT), National Cancer Center Hospital (NCCH)) Jun Sugihara (Principal Deputy Director / Director, Office of Ending AIDS Epidemic and Director, Office of Tuberculosis Elimination, Division of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Department of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) Takuko Sawada (Director and Vice Chairperson of the Board, Shionogi & Co., Ltd) Henry Skinner (CEO, AMR Action Fund)
19:50-20:00	Closing