On September 11th, AMR and climate change experts gathered during a webinar to discuss design principles for a successful scientific panel. They explored what a scientific panel on AMR could mean for low- and middle-income countries and those advocating for an evidence-informed approach to AMR policymaking.
Need for a scientific panel on AMR
The upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting (HLM) on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) presents a historic opportunity for Member States to make an actionable commitment to establishing an independent panel on evidence for action against AMR (IPEA). This scientific panel on AMR would provide UN Member States with the research needed for equitable and evidence-informed AMR policies.
Valuable lessons on the design of the scientific panel can be drawn from the development of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). These lessons include the importance of legitimacy, independence, timely reporting, and cost-efficiency.
To learn more, read our briefing note, which draws on insights from the IPCC, outlines the essential functions of a scientific panel on AMR, examines two possible governance models for its creation, and highlights the potential benefits a scientific panel could bring.
Moderator
Anna Karin Sjöblom is the Director of ReAct Europe and a member of ReAct’s Global leadership team. Anna is a registered nurse and holds a master in global health. She has a broad clinical background that includes infectious diseases, women’s health and pediatrics. Anna has a great deal of experience working in humanitarian crises, including refugee and migrant crises, nutritional emergencies and outbreaks.
Before joining ReAct, Anna worked with Médecins Sans Frontières as a medical team leader, medical humanitarian advisor, and was part of several management teams. She also has significant experience in policy and advocacy on migration policy, access to health care and to essential medicines, and in the field of antibiotic resistance
Panelists
Dr. Viviana Muñoz Tellez
Dr. Viviana Muñoz Tellez is the Programme Coordinator of the Health, Intellectual Property and Biodiversity (HIPB) Programme of the South Centre, an intergovernmental think tank of 55 developing countries. As of 2006, Dr. Muñoz leads the HIPB team providing policy-oriented research, expert advice and technical assistance activities to developing countries and runs various projects on AMR. She holds a Doctorate degree on management of technology from the École Polytechnique of Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland and a Master’s degree in development management from the London School of Economics (LSE).
Professor Youba Sokona
With over 40 years of experience addressing energy, environment and sustainable development in Africa, Professor Youba Sokona has been at the heart of numerous national and continental initiatives. He was a Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sixth assessment report after serving as Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group III for the fifth assessment report following being a Lead Author since 1990. He has a proven track record of organisational leadership and management, for example as Inaugural Coordinator of the African Climate Policy Centre and as Executive Secretary of the Sahara and the Sahel Observatory. He is affiliated with numerous boards and organisations and is Honorary Professor at University College London, member of The World Academy of Sciences, the African Academy of Sciences, the International Council of Science, Associate member of the National Academy of Sciences and Technology of Senegal and Honorary member of the Academy of Sciences of Mali. In short, Professor Sokona is a global figure, with deep technical knowledge, extensive policy experience and an unreserved personal commitment to African led development.
Dr. Mathieu Poirier
Dr. Poirier is Co-director of the Global Strategy Lab, the scientific director of the AMR Policy Accelerator and the managing director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on the Global Governance of AMR. He is also the York Research Chair (Tier II) in Global Health Equity, and Assistant Professor of Social Epidemiology at the School of Global Health at York University. His research ranges from evaluating international law to developing health equity metrics and generating policy-relevant research on socially and politically determined inequities in health. Dr. Poirier has worked throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, and previously directed vector-borne disease research for the University of Notre Dame Haiti Program.
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