PRESS BRIEFING BY BRENDEN VARMA, SPOKESPERSON FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT VOLKAN BOZKIR

PRESIDENT CALLS FOR ACTION PLANS TO FIGHT ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE, ONE OF THE GREATEST THREATS FACING OUR PLANET

  • Today the President is convening a High-level Interactive Dialogue on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).
  • AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses and parasites change over time. That can lead to antibiotics and other medicines becoming ineffective – thereby increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.
  • The opening segment this morning featured statements by the President; the Deputy Secretary-General; the Prime Ministers of Bangladesh and Barbados; the Directors-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, World Health Organization and World Organisation for Animal Health; and the Deputy Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme.
  • In his remarks, the President said AMR is one of the greatest threats facing our planet. And we ignore this silent pandemic at our peril.
  • He said that, if no action is taken, drug-resistant diseases could cause 10 million deaths each year by 2050. By 2030, AMR could force up to 24 million people into extreme poverty.
  • The President said world leaders can help to catalyse global attention and action to preserve antimicrobial medicines and tackle AMR.
  • And he encouraged Member States to develop and implement national action plans in that regard.
  • There are four panel discussions scheduled for today – on AMR in the context of COVID-19; global progress on AMR; tackling AMR at the country level; and ensuring sufficient and sustainable AMR financing.
  • And throughout the day, there will be statements by Ministers from Fiji, Germany, Ghana, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Sweden and the United Kingdom, as well as a Vice Minister from China.
  • To help advance the issue, 106 Member States have come together to sign on to a new “Call to Action.” The call aims to strengthen holistic approaches to health.
  • The President welcomed the ambitious and action-oriented nature of the ‘Call to Action’ and recognized the wide support it enjoyed across the membership.

 

PRESIDENT PROVIDING FORUM TO DISCUSS NEXT SEPTEMBER’S HIGH-LEVEL PERIOD

  • Asked about arrangements for the General Assembly’s general debate in September, the Spokesperson said the President’s role was to provide a forum in which Member States, including the Host Country, could discuss this issue with each other and the Secretariat.
  • In that regard, the President had been convening informal meetings on business continuity issues. The fourth such meeting would be held next week. The idea was to solicit views and see how the membership wished to move forward with respect to September’s high-level period. In addition to the Member States and Secretariat, the next President of the General Assembly would also eventually be involved in the discussions.
  • The Spokesperson said it was too early to announce what the general debate might look like but offered to share information as soon as it was available.

 

DIALOGUE WITH SECRETARY-GENERAL CANDIDATE TO BE HELD NEXT WEEK

  • Responding to questions about the Secretary-General selection and appointment process, the Spokesperson said that, as of now, one candidate’s name had been circulated to all Member States by the Presidents of the General Assembly and Security Council. That was António Guterres of Portugal.
  • Guterres would be participating in an informal dialogue on 7 May, in which he would present his vision statement and take questions from Member States and civil society.
  • In response to a related question, the Spokesperson said that there were six applicants who had written to the President and whose names had been forwaded by the President to his Security Council counterpart.