In an interview with Health Affairs editor-in-chief Alan Weil, Xavier Prats Monné, director-general for health and food safety of the European Commission (pictured below), shares the European Union (EU) action plan for promoting antibiotic stewardship and addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which he calls an urgent public health challenge. The EU plan includes strong national controls over the use of antibiotics, both in humans and livestock, further research, and partnering with the World Health Organization (WHO) to address the global dimensions of AMR. "In the end, the international community will have to face the fact that we have an extraordinary risk for our own planet, and that this has consequences, and we have to address those consequences," Prats Monné says. "Because the impact is not felt one day to another, there is a risk of postponing and kicking the can ahead.... And also I think--this is my personal view--that there is an element of North-South balance." In addition to discussing AMR, Prats Monné also outlines the EU's efforts to promote interoperability, particularly the capacity for e-prescriptions and personal health records.
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Also of interest in the June issue--two other global studies: The Economic Consequences Of Mortality Amenable To High-Quality Health Care In Low- And Middle-Income Countries; Blake Alkire of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and coauthors
HIV Treatment Substantially Decreases Hospitalization Rates: Evidence From Rural South Africa; Jan Hontelez of Erasmus University Medical Center (the Netherlands) and coauthors
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Health Affairs