Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is no longer a future challenge. It is a global threat that reaches far beyond hospitals and healthcare, affecting people, animals, food production, the environment and economies around the world.
That interconnected challenge is at the heart of World AMR Awareness Week 2026, held from 18 to 24 November under the theme “One Health, one action: Prevent AMR now.”
The campaign recognises that the health of people, animals, plants and the environment is closely connected, and that actions in one sector can have consequences across them all.
This concept, known as One Health, is an integrated approach that recognises the health of humans, animals, plants and the wider environment are closely linked and interdependent. By encouraging collaboration across sectors and disciplines, the One Health approach helps address complex challenges such as antimicrobial resistance, food safety and emerging infectious diseases.
AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites stop responding to antimicrobial medicines, making infections more difficult, and sometimes impossible, to treat. The scale of the challenge is significant. Bacterial AMR was associated with more than 4.7 million deaths globally in 2021, while projections indicate that AMR could cause up to 39 million deaths by 2050 without urgent action.
Tackling a challenge of this scale requires a coordinated global response. Governments, health professionals, veterinarians, environmental experts, farmers, researchers and communities all have a role to play, from the responsible use and safe disposal of antimicrobials to strengthening infection prevention, water and sanitation, sustainable food systems, diagnostics, vaccines and environmental protection.
But understanding and responding to AMR depends on something fundamental: confidence in testing, measurement and data. Without reliable laboratory results, it becomes difficult to identify emerging threats, monitor resistance patterns and make informed decisions.
But taking effective action also depends on something fundamental: knowing what we are dealing with.
You can’t manage what you can’t reliably identify, measure and monitor. In the fight against AMR, confidence in testing, measurement and data is critical.
Reliable diagnostic and laboratory information helps build the evidence needed to understand antimicrobial resistance. The World Health Organization identifies inadequate access to appropriate diagnostics among the factors contributing to the AMR crisis, while major global assessments of AMR draw on microbiology data alongside hospital, surveillance and other data to understand the burden and changing patterns of resistance.
Accreditation’s critical role
NATA accreditation provides confidence in the technical competence of laboratories, medical testing facilities and other conformity assessment bodies. It provides independent assurance that facilities have demonstrated the competence, systems and processes needed to produce reliable results. By providing confidence in the systems, competence and processes behind testing, accreditation helps strengthen trust in the results on which important decisions can depend.
NATA’s accreditation activities across animal health, food, environmental and human health provide a unique perspective on how these sectors overlap and where collaboration can strengthen outcomes. This reflects the principles of the One Health approach, where understanding the connections between people, animals and the environment can support more effective responses to complex health challenges such as AMR. For NATA, this illustrates the wider value of accreditation. Confidence in testing supports confidence in the evidence used to inform decisions. Trusted results can contribute to the broader efforts of health professionals, researchers, government, industry and other stakeholders working to understand and respond to AMR.
For accredited facilities, this highlights the broader impact of the work they perform every day. Reliable testing does more than support individual clients or projects. It contributes to the evidence base that helps protect public health, food systems and the environment.
World AMR Awareness Week 2026 is a reminder that addressing antimicrobial resistance requires collective action across sectors, disciplines and borders.
One Health, one action. And behind informed action is the need for evidence we can trust.
Learn more about World AMR Awareness Week here