1. That, further to the World Health Organization’s recommendations (WHO), our countries adopt the complete restriction of the use of antibiotics of importance for human medicine in growth promotion and preventative purposes in food animals.[i]

2. That, further to the WHO’s recommendations, highest priority critically important antimicrobials for human medicine, such as colistin —a last-resort antibiotic for treating drug-resistant infections— should not be used to treat food-producing animals without a clinically diagnosed infectious disease.[ii]

3. That the labeling of feed used in animal husbandry whether it contains antibiotics or is antibiotic-free be approved, as well as the labeling of food of animal origin produced with and without the routine use of antibiotics, in order to facilitate consumer choice, until the ban on such uses go into effect. 

4. That, as suggested by the Bangkok Declaration,[iii] our countries establish for public procurement the requirement that food be produced without the routine use of antibiotics. Hospitals should take the lead, in order to be consistent with their mission.

5. That countries and intergovernmental agencies build transparent data systems about antibiotics sold/purchased and used by antibiotic and feed manufacturers, retailers and producers of food animals.

6. That countries build surveillance monitoring systems of antimicrobial residues, antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) and drug-resistant pathogens in food.

7. As part of a focus on bacterial resistance, that encourage low-impact waste management methods, particularly where wastewater or manure is being used as biofertilizer. This should include the development of new and practical methods for treatment of animal litter and manure prior to land application, as well as preventing the use of poultry litter in aquaculture.[iv]–[v]

8. That our countries establish as a requirement the submission of environmental management plans that consider the impacts of antibiotic contamination, multidrug-resistant bacteria and ARGs.   

9. That countries develop transition strategies towards healthy, sustainable and self-governing food production systems, that ensure animal welfare, in accordance with the principles established by the FARMS Initiative.[vi] This should include the creation of a public fund to finance applied research and the needed technical-hygiene improvements   in the animal farms, as well as to sustain the economies of producers during the process.   

10. That, given the need to reduce the use of antimicrobials also in some crop production,[vii] countries should promote agroecological production, which combines the production of vegetables and animal husbandry, taking care of biodiversity and avoiding the use of chemical inputs.

11. Develop market regulation and incentive mechanisms for food producers and food buyers to promote supply chains for responsibly raised livestock and fish and drive the shift to healthy diets for humans and sustainable for the planet.[viii]

12. To enable civil society to do its part, develop a fund to finance civil society initiatives to address AMR, independently administered, financed with public sector resources, and capable of fostering national and regional, as well as cross-sectoral, action to address antimicrobial resistance.

Endorsed by,