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Good morning and Xin chao!
I am really pleased to be able to join you today for this signing ceremony, another important step in Viet Nam’s fight against antimicrobial resistance.
The World Health Organization has declared AMR as one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity. It threatens to reverse decades of medical progress, by making common infections deadly once again.
We estimate that AMR causes at least 1.3 million deaths around the world every year, with huge associated costs for both health systems and economies.
For me, this issue is also personal. For the last few weeks, one of my five-year-old twin daughters has been battling a serious antibiotic-resistant infection, and not for the first time. So, I speak from my own experience when I say that I understand the fear, anxiety and stress of families going through the experience of a loved one being affected by a common infection which is more complex to treat than it should be.
As for almost every other country around the world, the scale of both the challenge and the impact of AMR in Viet Nam is significant. But the good news is that some important progress has been made in the last few years to strengthen its efforts to tackle the problem, including:
Having the Medical Services Administration (MSA) designated as the National Coordinating Centre – recognizing the importance of coordination in tackling such a complex policy issue;
Strengthening of the national surveillance system, including through the establishment of three national reference laboratories and AMR surveillance sites in 57 hospitals across the country. This is fundamentally important, because you can’t see – or stop – what you don’t measure; and
Development of the new National Action Plan for AMR (2026–2030) which we hope will be launched later this month.
So, some important progress to date, but in Viet Nam as for every country, there is a great deal more to be done.
One of the key priorities for future action is to strengthen the ‘multisectoral’ approach to AMR – because AMR is an issue which no one organization, and no single sector, can solve alone.
But multisectoral-ism is easy to say, harder to do … which is why I am genuinely delighted to be here for the formalizing of this partnership between Sandoz and the Viet Nam Medical Association.
From WHO’s perspective, the pharmaceutical industry has a crucially important role to play in tackling AMR. We need innovator companies to continue investing in R&D to build a pipeline of new antibiotics; and we need the whole industry to continue to support responsible manufacturing, stronger antimicrobial stewardship, data sharing, and collaborative efforts to continue to ensure quality of and access to a reliable supply of essential medicines.
And, I’m pleased to see many of these elements reflected in the MOU you are signing today. Thank you to both organizations for your commitment and your leadership.
Looking ahead, WHO is of course absolutely committed to continue working closely with the Government of Viet Nam – and other partners – in this crucially important work.
I want to close with a quote from WHO’s Director General Dr Tedros, my boss. He sums it up perfectly: “Without effective antibiotics, we risk losing the gains of modern medicine. We owe it to future generations to preserve this precious gift.”
So, while the road ahead is challenging, the path is clear. For my kids, for your kids and grandkids, and for all of humanity, we need to work in unity, and with determination, innovation, and a deep sense of urgency, to slow the spread of AMR and protect the lifesaving power of one of modern medicine’s greatest gifts.
Thank you / Xin cảm ơn!