The UK has a long-term programme to tackle AMR. The first stage (2013-2018) had three strategic aims:20 
improve the knowledge and understanding of antimicrobial resistance 
conserve and steward the effectiveness of existing treatments 
stimulate the development of new antibiotics, diagnostics and novel therapies. 
The key aims of the current national action plan (2019-2024) are centred around:21 
reducing need for, and unintentional exposure to, antimicrobials 
optimising use of antimicrobials 
investing in innovation, supply and access. 
To measure progress, key targets include to: 
halve healthcare associated Gram-negative blood stream infections 
reduce the number of specific drug-resistant infections in people by 10 per cent by 2025 
reduce UK antimicrobial use in humans by 15 per cent by 2024 
reduce UK antibiotic use in food-producing animals by 25 per cent between 2016 and 2020 and define new objectives by 2021 for 2025 
be able to report on the percentage of prescriptions supported by a diagnostic test or decision support tool by 2024. 
This second five-year plan also saw the publication of a 20-year vision for AMR. By 2040, the “vision is of a world in which antimicrobial resistance is effectively contained, controlled and mitigated”.22