The new oneBlueprint for strengthening responses to fungal diseases and antifungal resistanceissued Tuesday, lays out practical steps to improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring.
Fungal diseases affecting more than 300 million people each year and is associated with high mortality, long-term illness and large losses in health and productivity worldwide.
Growing global threat
They range from common conditions such as ringworm and nail infections to serious invasive diseases that can be fatal especially for people with weakened immune systems, those receiving intensive care, people living with HIV, transplants and cancer patients.
Meanwhile antifungal resistance is a growing threat, driven in part by the widespread use of antifungal medications and their analogues across human, animal and plant health, as well as environmental exposure to fungicide chemicals.
Despite this figure, the WHO said fungal diseases are often missing from national health treatment policies, global disease burden estimates and most strategies for antimicrobial resistance (AMR), universal health coverage and One Health – the UN agency’s initiative for action across human, animal, plant and environmental health.
‘A concrete way forward’
The plan comes about a month after WHO’s decision-making body, the World Health Assembly, adopted an updated global action plan for AMR, which occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites evolve and become resistant to the drugs designed to kill them, making infections harder to treat.
It remains one of the biggest global health and development threats.
“The updated Global Plan of Action on AMR endorsed by the 79th World Health Assembly recognized that antifungal resistance is an integral part of the AMR challenge – and one we can no longer afford to overlook ,” said Dr. Jean Pierre Nyemazi, Interim Director of WHO’s Division of Antimicrobial Resistance.
He added that the Blueprint “gives countries a concrete way forward.”
Remediation of critical gaps
Blueprint builds on WHO’s firstList of fungal priority pathogenspublished in 2022, which identified 19 fungal pathogens or pathogen groups requiring urgent research, development and public health efforts .
It was developed through a multi-step process and consultations with more than 150 experts from all WHO regions, including specialists in clinical mycology, diagnostics, stewardship, surveillance, regulatory policy, public health and patient advocacy.
The goal is to help countries address critical gaps in knowledge, diagnosis, treatment, surveillance, research and workforce capacity, particularly in low-resource settings.
Practical framework for response
The WHO plan prioritizes interventions around four interrelated domains, providing a framework for implementation:
Domain 1 focuses on public health and health systems, including strengthening awareness and preparedness, antifungal stewardship programs, workforce training, and infection prevention and control.
Domain 2 concerns expanding equal access to quality-assured antifungal medicine and diagnostics, while supporting research, innovation and the market.
Domain 3 prioritize strengthening laboratory systems and surveillance to support clinical management, inform public health decisions and improve outbreak preparedness
Domain 4addresses social and environmental factors, including agricultural, environmental and One Health factors that may contribute to fungal disease epidemiology and antifungal resistance.
“Fungal diseases and antifungal resistance remain an informed priority across national health plans, AMR strategies and surveillance systems.
“This plan provides countries with a practical framework to strengthen their response,” said Hatim Sati, technical officer in WHO’s Division of Antimicrobial Resistance, who led the development of the guidance.
