Empowered Communities lead AMR response in Latin America and the Caribbean

2024-12-16

The fourth Meeting of Empowered Communities of Latin America and the Caribbean was held on Friday, November 22, 2024, as part of World Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Awareness Week, from November 18 to 24, 2024.

The webinar, organized by PAHO Washington and ReAct Latin America, brought together representatives from seven countries in the region to discuss, reflect, and share experiences and strategies to tackle AMR. Under the slogan “Let’s Educate, Let’s Promote, Let’s Act Now,” the importance of community work in building sustainable solutions to AMR was highlighted.

An inclusive and multi-sectoral approach

The main objective of the meeting was to learn about, value, encourage and articulate all the groups and communities that work in Latin America and the Caribbean to educate, promote and act on the causes of AMR. This includes indigenous peoples, students, doctors, educators, farmers, scientists and artists. The inclusion of this diversity guarantees that the strategies are adaptable to the needs of each territory and more effective in their implementation.

Transformative experiences from the communities

Within the framework of the One Health approach, leaders such as Patricia Nogales, a community leader from Bolivia who is part of the Health Action Front, and Donato Camey, Vice Minister of Primary Health Care and Social Assistance of Guatemala, shared experiences on how communities have implemented concrete actions to address AMR in their territories. These actions include awareness campaigns, training on the proper use of antibiotics and strategies to prevent infections, which are sought to be replicated in other countries.

A recurring theme was the need to foster intersectoral partnerships. Panelists highlighted how collaboration between the health, education, agriculture and environment sectors can strengthen community participation and broaden the impact of interventions. In addition, the importance of adapting these experiences to other local contexts was underlined, thus fostering replicability and sustainability.

Education as a transformative axis

A key topic taken up in the meeting was education as a tool to address AMR. John Mario Lora, a Colombian Natural Sciences teacher, shared his playful and creative approach to teaching children and young people about the microbial world and the proper use of antimicrobials. His text “The Circle of Bacteria” captured the attention of attendees for its innovative and educational approach.

From Brazil, Andriele Gonçalves explained how she has integrated the topic of antimicrobial resistance into her nutritional education activities, while Belén Juca, from Ecuador, recounted her experience working with children and adolescents in vulnerable situations. Meanwhile, Georgette Thompson, senior veterinary biochemical analyst at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining of Jamaica, shared activities to sow change in society. These stories demonstrated that education is not only a channel of information, but also a tool of empowerment that allows communities to become agents of change.

A hopeful future

The webinar concluded with remarks by Nathalie El Omeiri, from the Pan American Health Organization, and Arturo Quizhpe, director of ReAct Latin America, who highlighted that this meeting represented a space for hope, strength and action. In his speech, Arturo Quizhpe recalled the questions raised decades ago by Joan Manuel Serrat on environmental impact, linking them to current challenges, such as massive forest fires, the destruction of ecosystems and the consequences of climate change in South America.

Arturo highlighted that these problems are interrelated with antimicrobial resistance, the abuse of industrial products and the devastation of nature, emphasizing the need to adopt a “One Health” approach to understand and act on the vital web that sustains existence. With a call for urgent action, he advocated for making microbial health visible, promoting access to clean water and preserving effective antibiotics.

Finally, the meeting closed with the presentation of the song “Aquí estamos, ya llegaste” (Here we are, we have arrived), by Ecuadorian doctor and artist Ulises Freire, which has become a hymn of hope and action that symbolized unity and collective effort in the fight against AMR. This emotional closing left attendees inspired and committed to the mission of facing this global challenge from a community and multi-sectoral approach.