This document outlines the concept and content of the WHO people-centred approach to addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the human health sector. The proposed approach recognizes and aims to address the challenges and health system barriers people face when accessing health services to prevent, diagnose and treat (drug-resistant) infections. It puts people and their needs at the centre of the AMR response and guides policy-makers in taking programmatic and comprehensive actions to mitigate AMR in line with a proposed package of core interventions. These interventions are based on a review of four pillars and two foundational steps that are critical to overcome barriers faced by people and health systems in addressing AMR. The four pillars are: (1) prevention of infections; (2) access to essential health services; (3) timely, accurate diagnosis; and (4) appropriate, quality-assured treatment. The pillars are supported by the two foundational steps: effective governance, awareness and education; and strategic information through surveillance and research. Building and adding on to the objectives of the Global action plan on AMR, the 13 core interventions and accompanying priority actions are designed to address AMR in a programmatic manner that puts people, their needs and equitable access to health services at the centre of the AMR response in the community, in primary care, secondary and tertiary care, and at national and/or subnational level. The development of the people-centred core package of AMR interventions was based on a review of the evidence and multidisciplinary expert opinion, complemented with feedback from a global online consultation and WHO’s strategic and technical advisory group on antimicrobial resistance. As countries develop or revise their national action plans (NAPs) on AMR, the people-centred core package of interventions can support the design and prioritization of actions in the human health sector at the different levels of implementation and integrated with broader health system strengthening and pandemic preparedness and response plans.

Technical report of the fourth meeting of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on In Vitro Diagnostics, 2022 (including the fourth WHO model list of essential in vitro diagnostics (EDL 4)). This report also includes the applications received for the EDL 4 and a summary of the deliberations and recommendations by the SAGE IVD members and the methodologist that assessed the supportive evidence for the EDL 4 applications.

In 2021 WHO released updated guidelines on cervical screening and treatment, prioritizing the use of HPV testing in primary screening, both for the general female population and for women living with HIV. Although there are more than 250 HPV tests commercially available, governments and other stakeholders are facing multiple challenges to implement HPV-based cervical screening, starting with the limited availability of validated, affordable, high-performance HPV tests. WHO TPPs aim to incentivize the development of health products that are fit for purpose. This entails keeping the focus on public health priorities, and recognizing that access, equity and affordability are integral parts of the innovation process that need to be considered from the early research and development stages. As the rate of return on global health products tends to be lower than for products targeting markets in high-income countries only, the TPPs are also an indication of need and future policy developments, and therefore purchasing. As such, they aim to contribute to reducing investment risk and increasing the likelihood that novel tests will be developed that meet the needs identified by WHO. WHO prioritized the development of TPPs for HPV testing that will guide innovation and motivate test developers and manufacturers to address global health needs and contribute to countries’ efforts to reach their 2030 target of 70% cervical cancer screening coverage.

In 2015 the World Health Assembly endorsed the Global action plan on antimicrobial resistance calling on countries to develop and implement national action plans on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). For most countries, the greatest challenge is not developing a national action plan; rather, it is the implementation of the plan based on evidence-based prioritization of activities, systematic monitoring of progress, and ensuring sustainability of efforts. The purpose of this publication is to to provide a practical, stepwise approach to the implementation of the national action plan on AMR within the human health sector; and to provide a process and collation of existing WHO tools to prioritize, cost, implement, monitor and evaluate national action plan activities. The target audience of the publication are national/subnational stakeholders working on AMR within the human health sector. This includes national health authorities, national multisectoral coordination groups, senior technical experts and policymakers involved in implementing AMR activities at all levels of the health system, and implementation partners to accelerate sustainable implementation and monitoring and evaluation of national action plans on AMR.