International collaborations on antibiotic resistance

We have established bilateral collaborations with a number of countries and national agencies within the areas of antibiotic resistance and infection prevention and control. We also have multilateral collaborations with European and international organisations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the independent network ReAct.

Increasing antibiotic resistance threatens to undermine modern basic health care and advanced medical care. Co-operation between countries, veterinary and human medicine, as well as the environmental sector opens up to new opportunities for sustainable change.

WHO Collaborating Centre for antimicrobial resistance containment

The government of Sweden and the Public Health Agency are actively supporting WHO in the implementation of the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance. An important cornerstone is the collection and use of data of both antibiotic use and resistance for local and global action. The Department of Communicable Disease Control and Health Protection at the Public Health Agency is a designated WHO Collaborating Centre for AMR Containment since 2016.

The Collaborating Centre is also a member of the WHO Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance and Quality Assessment Collaborating Centres Network, in support to the implementation of GLASS in Member States. GLASS (Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System) was launched by WHO in 2015 to promote “a standardized approach to the collection, analysis and sharing of AMR data at a global level”.

WHO AMR Surveillance and Quality Assessment Collaborating Centres Network (who.int)

Together with the Swedish government, the Centre has hosted several high-level WHO meetings on GLASS such as the 3rd High Level Technical Consultation and Meeting on Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance and Use for Concerted Actions in 2021.

Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being

The NDPHS is a cooperation platform of ten partner countries and several international organizations, including the WHO and the European Commission, which operates on different levels, including activities such as high-level ministerial dialogues and an extensive network of experts.

Sweden, represented by the Public Health Agency, is lead country and chair of the Antimicrobial Resistance Expert Group (AMR-EG). The expert group is one of seven expert groups that make up a network coordinated by the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (NDPHS), the coordinator of Policy Area Health within the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR).

Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (ndphs.org)

EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (balticsea-region-strategy.eu)

The AMR-EG has representatives from Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Poland. The group has meetings two to four times a year, where the experts exchange information, ideas and experience. Research and implementation projects are also conducted within the group.

Supporting implementation of One Health national action plans in the Baltic sea area

The Swedish Board of Agriculture and the Public Health Agency of Sweden have supported Latvia in implementing their One Health national action plan against AMR since 2019.  

In 2023 a two-year project based on the concepts of our collaboration with Latvia is initiated. It involves Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden, and is financed by Nordic Council of Ministers through NordForsk.

Read more: Support to Latvia in the implementation of their One Health national action plan

Other collaborations and projects

The agency is involved in a number of short-term projects in the EU and globally. Contact us for more information.     

Sweden is also an active member of the Global Health Security Agenda, an initiative for a multilateral and multi-sectorial approach to strengthen both the global capacity and nations' capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious diseases threats. Nearly 50 nations, international organizations, and non-governmental stakeholders are involved, and the Public Health Agency is active in the work within the AMR Action Package.