Addressing antimicrobial resistance as a global public health issue in settings of precarity

This proposal addresses the combined challenges of equitable access to sustainable development, especially SDG3 health and wellbeing, and human rights and social justice, through a focus on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the Middle East and West Asia region (‘MENA’/WHO Eastern Mediterranean). These countries have very high levels of antibiotic consumption and growing AMR problems, often in contexts of economic and/or political precarity. The UN recognises AMR as a global health priority that if unaddressed, may arrest progress towards the achievement of several SDGs and highlights that AMR is exacerbated in humanitarian crises such as forced displacement and conflict. We will conduct a situational analysis of AMR in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and link with partners in the Iran, Syria and other countries in the MENA region to build a collaborative research network.