Parliamentary Group against Antimicrobial Resistance founded
Members of Parliament are committed to combating antimicrobial resistance and developing new antibiotics
The newly founded parliamentary group is working together to combat antimicrobial resistance.
Members of Parliament (MPs) from the CDU, FDP, SPD and Die Linke parties have joined forces in a parliamentary group to focus more on combating antimicrobial resistance in the future.
Antibacterial resistance is a major global challenge for public health. According to WHO estimates, they were responsible for the deaths of almost 5 million people worldwide in 2019 alone. People in low- and middle-income countries are particularly affected. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) (2022) has calculated that 35,000 people die every year in the European Union due to antimicrobial resistance.
"All parliamentarians who have joined forces here are aware of the central importance of the joint commitment against antimicrobial resistance: 70 per cent of antibiotic-resistant infections occur in healthcare facilities. AMR affects operations, transplants, intensive care and the health of people with weakened immune systems, such as cancer patients, where a simple infection can be fatal," explained Dr Georg Kippels MP, who was elected spokesperson of the advisory board. Dr Franziska Kersten MdB was elected deputy chairperson.
Dr Timo Jäger, DNAMR spokesperson and Managing Director of the German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), welcomed the initiative at a ceremony in the German Bundestag. He emphasised the need for members of parliament to find out about the challenges involved in developing new antibiotics. "Germany does have a strategy against antibiotic resistance and an updated action plan (DART 2030). However, the action plan hardly addresses the development of new antibiotics and antimicrobial agents with accompanying regulations that facilitate their market launch and thus make them accessible to patients. However, a constant supply of new antibiotics is necessary. We are therefore all the more pleased that we now have specific contacts in the form of the members of the advisory board to discuss suitable measures and suggest these with the political support of the German government."
These are the members of the parliamentary group:
CDU/CSU: Stephan Albani, Prof Dr Helge Braun, Hermann Gröhe, Dr Georg Kippels, Katrin Staffler
FDP: Kristine Lütke, Prof Dr Andrew Ullmann
SPD: Dr Holger Becker, Dr Franziska Kersten, Tina Rudolph
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Johannes Wagner
Die Linke: Dr Petra Sitte
Source: Press release of the DNAMR (in German only)