The Quadripartite agencies – the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE) -- are pleased to announce a call for expressions of interest from youth engagement experts to serve on the Quadripartite Working Group on Youth Engagement for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Organizations serving youth and/or representing youth themselves are encouraged to apply.  Experts may be from youth-led organizations or youth-serving organizations.

AMR represents a major global threat across human, animal, plant, food, and environmental sectors. AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial agents.  As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents become ineffective and infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.  Misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in humans, animals and plants are accelerating the development and spread of AMR. 5 million deaths were associated with AMR in 2019, of which 1.3 million were as a direct result of bacterial AMR.   

‘Meaningful adolescent and youth engagement’ is defined as ‘an inclusive, intentional, mutually-respectful partnership between adolescents, youth and adults whereby power is shared, respective contributions are valued. Young people’s ideas, perspectives, skills and strengths are integrated into the design and delivery of programmes, strategies, policies, funding mechanisms and organizations that affect their lives and their communities, countries and world.’

The objective of the Quadripartite Working Group on Youth Engagement for AMR is to guide the engagement of the Quadripartite with youth in order to harness the energy of this population in the global response to AMR.  The Working Group will build on existing work by Quadripartite agencies with youth in other contexts (eg. UNEP’s Young Champions of the Earth; FAO’s Supporting Responsible Investments in Agriculture and Food Systems, RAI; WHO Youth Council) and will both feed into and learn from the work of the other Working Groups to ensure synergy.

The functions of the Working Group are described in the attached Terms of Reference.

Expressions of Interest from representatives of youth-led or youth-serving organizations are welcome. To apply, please:

1. Review the Terms of Reference available here
2. Send a cover letter along with a brief CV or personal profile to email address [email protected] no later than 11 June 2023

Your CV should specify your current position, organization, date of birth, gender, and nationality. Your cover letter should describe your organization’s interest and any previous work on AMR, including engagement with young people and support to youth networks. All applications will be treated in strict confidence.  At this time, only applications in English will be considered.

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FAO: Read more about FAO’s work on AMR here

UNEP: Read more about UNEP’s work on AMR here

WHO: Read more about WHO’s work on AMR here

WOAH: Read more about WOAH’s (Founded as OIE) work on AMR here

World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW) Resources are available here

Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on AMR’s mandate and activities can be read here