JPIAMR Final Conference: ‘Microbes do not have borders’
On 7 and 8 May 2025, the JPIAMR celebrated 10 years of international research into antimicrobial resistance (AMR). During a closing meeting in Stockholm, researchers presented their results and attendees looked ahead to the European Partnership One Health AMR (EUP OHAMR).
Chair of the Joint Programming Initiative on AMR (JPIAMR) Jan-Ingvar Jönsson kicked off with the sentence ‘Microbes do not have borders’. The JPIAMR, together with 29 participating countries, brought this global perspective together by coordinating activities of the member states from 2012 onwards. They created a strategic research and innovation agenda (SRIA) and later also launched joint calls for proposals. The first transnational call in 2014 focused entirely on human health. After a few years, partly due to Dutch efforts, the vision was broadened to include human, animal and environmental health: the One Health perspective.
A total of 186 projects and networks were financed with the help of the JPIAMR, including 49 projects (26%) with funding from ZonMw. Something to be proud of!
Results
A selection of JPIAMR projects and results were presented at the conference. Topics ranged from prevention of the emergence and spread of AMR, monitoring and surveillance, prudent use of antimicrobials, infection prevention, the importance of (re)using data and cost-effectiveness. There was also a panel with important stakeholders in the field of AMR such as the World Health Organisation and the European Commission.
Urgency
Britain’s Special Envoy for AMR and long-standing advocate Dame Sally Davies took the floor and described AMR as a drone going for humanity. Together with a theatre group from Scotland, she worked on the musical LIFELINE, part of which was performed live. The musical intertwines the story of medical microbiologist and discoverer of penicillin Alexander Flemming with the story of a modern-day doctor who is in danger of losing her childhood sweetheart to an AMR infection. The musical aims to raise awareness of the consequences of AMR, which claims an estimated 5 million lives worldwide each year.
The transition from JPIAMR to EUP OHAMR
The JPIAMR will end by the end of May, after which the European Partnership for One Health Antimicrobial Resistance (EUP OHAMR) will start on 1 June 2025. The partnership is part of the Horizon Europe framework programme of the European Commission, which supports research and innovation. The partnership consists of 51 organisations from 28 countries that, together with the European Commission, will invest more than 340 million euros over a period of 10 years in research and innovation in the field of antimicrobial resistance and its challenges. ZonMw is participating in the EUP OHAMR as a strategic partner and on behalf of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. In addition to participating in transnational calls, ZonMw is leading a work package on the reuse of data and is acting as the secretariat of the Scientific Advisory Board.
About the final conference
The conference was organised by the Swedish Research Council (SRC), the Swedish secretariat of the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR). The conference celebrated 10 years of research funding from JPIAMR with a variety of scientific sessions, keynotes and a world café. ZonMw is a partner of JPIAMR and EUP OHAMR and chaired a session on data reuse.