64th World Health Assembly, 2011 Photograph by WHO/Pierre Albouy
Statement |

Draft updated global action plan on antimicrobial resistance – WHA79/12.9

Photograph by WHO/Pierre Albouy
64th World Health Assembly, 2011 Photograph by WHO/Pierre Albouy

MSF Statement on Agenda Item 12.9 – Draft updated global action plan on antimicrobial resistance

79th World Health Assembly, May 2026  

MSF urges Member States to adopt and fully implement the updated GAP-AMR and to deliver on the 2024 UN high-level commitments.

In the contexts where MSF works, limited diagnostics and laboratory capacity undermine the ability to monitor resistance, guide treatment and leave highest-burden settings under-represented in global data.  

Supporting IPC, WASH and immunisation; expanding access to diagnostics and antibiotics; and extending surveillance capacity in fragile and conflict-affected settings must be prioritised.  

Public and philanthropic R&D funding for diagnostics and antimicrobials must embed access- and stewardship-enabling conditions, including affordability, registration, diversified manufacturing, and products for children, neonates and crisis-affected populations. Additional and predictable financing is urgently needed to implement these measures.