Socio-Economic and Behavioural Dimensions of Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Animals

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a wicked problem with the potential for far-reaching and negative health, economic, and social impacts, many of which are unpredictable. It is a problem so complex that there is no one solution but so important we must work to minimize its impacts. Because of the multitude of drivers of both AMR and antimicrobial use (AMU), strong transdisciplinary leadership is needed to build trust and bring together collaborative teams with wide and diverse perspectives. Lessons from other areas of public health practice, including health promotion and harm reduction, can be used to come up with comprehensive, multisectoral and multi-level strategies and interventions that will improve population and ecosystem ability to cope with the impacts of AMR and will minimize the negative consequences associated with reduced AMU. Given the urgency of this growing health emergency, it behooves us to explore and try approaches from other success stories, ideally with an investment of resources to support new ways of working and collaborating.