FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A Prescription to Prevent 10 Million Deaths Per Year
AMR Alliance Japan Releases Recommendations on the Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance

[TOKYO, July 11, 2019] Today, AMR Alliance Japan unveiled “AMR Alliance Japan Policy Recommendations: The Japanese Government’s Role in Promoting AMR Countermeasures.” These recommendations are the result of intensive discussion among a wide-range of infectious disease experts, and lay out a path for the Japanese Government to assume greater leadership in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Across the world, antimicrobial-resistant infections claim the lives of at least 700,000 people each year. Without greater action on this issue, it is estimated that the number of deaths from AMR-related causes could increase to up to 10 million per year by 2050. Recognizing the gravity of this problem, the recent G20 Osaka Leaders’ Declaration contained text advocating for the greater acceleration of efforts to combat AMR. It is expected that specific countermeasures will be debated further at the G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting to be held this October.

Three years have passed since the Japanese Government released its “National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance 2016-2020.” AMR Alliance Japan hopes that its recommendations will provide strong guidance for future policies on this issue as Japan approaches the end of the term for that National Action Plan. Bold policies on AMR are urgently needed today to prevent the loss of countless lives in the future.

[About AMR Alliance Japan]
AMR Alliance Japan was established in November 2018 as multi-stakeholder, collaborative organization dedicated to the improvement of public health through the promotion of AMR countermeasures. As of May 2019, its members include, in alphabetical order: The Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association; The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases; The Japanese Society for Clinical Microbiology; The Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control; The Japanese Society for Medical Mycology; The Japanese Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases; The Japanese Society of Chemotherapy; The Japanese Society of Pharmaceutical Healthcare and Sciences; The Japanese Society of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring; The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan; MSD K.K.; Nippon Becton, Dickinson and Company, Ltd.; and Shionogi & Co., Ltd. The Health and Global Policy Institute serves as the Secretariat of AMR Alliance Japan.