Evaluation of the EC Action Plan against the rising threats from antimicrobial resistance : final report

The European Commission's 'Action Plan against the Rising Threats from Antimicrobial Resistance' (COM(2011) 748), which covered the period 2011-2016, aimed to address the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at the European level using a holistic approach. The Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) commissioned an evaluation of the 'Action Plan against the Rising Threats from Antimicrobial Resistance' (hereafter, the Action Plan) in 2015 to assess its relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and added value. The evaluation found that the Action Plan was successful on all of these dimensions and particularly in demonstrating EU political commitment to tackling AMR. EU support made a major contribution to the global AMR research landscape that would likely not have been provided by other sources. The EU should build on progress made and continue to actively address AMR. Recommendations include providing additional coordinated support to Member States, expanding the scope of environmental action and contributing further to international efforts. The EU should sustain support for research and innovation on AMR and should consider the balance of funding among developing new antimicrobials, treatment alternatives and diagnostics. The EU could expand its monitoring and surveillance of AMR and AMR-related activities and better communicate its efforts to stakeholders and the wider public to increase awareness about its work and enable others to learn from the EU example.