The general objective of this action is to support EU Member States and other countries participating in the EU Health Programme – currently EU/EEA countries plus Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Moldova to enhance the validity and accuracy of surveillance data reported at EU level in compliance with the new EU AMR case definitions in order to inform concerted actions against AMR at EU level and enable better detection and control of cross border threats to human health from AMR.

The specific objective is to support the operation of public health reference laboratory networks by providing capacity-building activities including training, quality assurance, country visits and other tasks described in more details below as well as validated AMR detection tools to national reference laboratories for public health in compliance with the new EU AMR case definitions — specifically for AMR in Salmonella species and Campylobacter species in human samples. The overall expected outcome is to further strengthen the coverage, timeliness and usability of AMR surveillance systems for AMR transmission control at local, regional and national levels, inter alia by taking advantage of applied whole-genome sequencing technology, as well extend capabilities for sharing AMR event-related alert information across the EU. This action will improve effectiveness for early warning and targeted control of AMR at the point of transmission and enhance preparedness. Results from this action will further inform the evaluation of AMR containment activities and policies across the EU to contribute to the long-term strategic development in this area.