ReAct

Every day, all over the world antibiotics save lives and are the cornerstones of modern medicine. From basic healthcare to advanced medicine, antibiotics have become indispensable. What will happen if antibiotics stop working? If antibiotics can no longer treat you when you need them? Unfortunately, this has already started to happen.

The world is slowly running out of effective antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance has become one of the greatest threats to global health and needs to be urgently addressed to minimise the consequences.This is why it is important that we act – in every household, at every hospital, every farm and factory, and across the world with policies, regulations and action plans.

ReAct’s vision and values are guided by the principle that solutions to contain antibiotic resistance must contribute to improving universal health coverage, global poverty reduction and support global development for all. Sustainable access to affordable and effective prevention and treatment of bacterial infections is part of everyone’s right to health.

There is much we can do at all levels of society to prevent antibiotic resistance from spreading and for antibiotics to remain effective.

ReAct is working in all continents:

• To make different stakeholders such as policy makers, health care professionals, civil society organisations understand the importance of antibiotic resistance.
• To support governments in some developing countries with national plans against antibiotic resistance.
• To advocate for effective antibiotics to be available and affordable for all in need.

The independent international network ReAct continues its mission because the world has not yet been able to find sustainable ways to collectively manage and control antibiotic resistance. Even though the problem is accelerating, there is still a lack of coordination and leadership.

“We can see how the world is beginning to wake up and realise how serious the threat of spreading antibiotics resistance is, but it is very late. Now ReAct are focusing on supporting countries and organisations who want to work with this issue, all while continuing our global advocacy work.”

Otto Cars, Founder of ReAct and Senior Professor of Infectious Diseases at Uppsala University

React works as a global catalyst to make antibiotic resistance and its consequences visible in the global debate and to influence a broad range of organisations and stakeholders. As ReAct is located in five different continents it works on local, regional and global level, organised as a multidisciplinary team which includes microbiologists, physicians, veterinarians, communication experts and global health specialists.

“ReAct is a key player for the WHO to collaborate with both on the ground supporting countries and at the international level. ReAct was one of the major stakeholders who has been driving antimicrobial resistance up the political agenda all the way to the UN General Assembly.”
Dr. Marc Sprenger, Director, Antimicrobial Resistance Secretariat, WHO

Together we need to transform political will into concrete actions! The problem of antibiotic resistance is multi-sectorial and involves many complex challenges. Apart from the medical components, it has economic, ecologic, sociological and developmental dimensions.

Important areas for global action:

• Reduce inappropriate use
• Ensure access and strengthened regulatory systems
• Improve infection prevention and control
• Address non-human use and environmental concerns
• Investments in coordination
• Increase professional and public awareness
• Stimulation of research and development of novel and antibiotics, diagnostics and vaccines
  

Read more about the areas that need to be covered. Most of these elements are also included as part of the strategic objectives of the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance and should be reflected in countries’ National Action Plans on Antimicrobial Resistance.

In 2016 the issue of antibiotic resistance was brought to the United Nation’s General Assembly. The strong engagement by truly dedicated people in ReAct’s global network have contributed to this important development.