First quick takeaways from the ReAct Africa and South Centre Annual Conference

2025-06-26

The 2025 ReAct Africa and South Centre Annual Conference aimed to translate global and regional AMR commitments into practical strategies tailored to local and national contexts, especially in low- and middle-income countries, with a strong focus on Africa. Find a list of quick takeaways from the conference. A longer and more detailed report will be released in the coming month.

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) remains a critical global health threat, with far reaching implications for medical progress, food security, and economic stability. In response, the international community has made notable commitments, including at the 2024 UNGA High-Level Meeting on AMR and through the Jeddah Commitments, which call for stronger governance, infection prevention, and antimicrobial stewardship. Africa’s Public Health Agenda further stresses the need to build resilient health systems to address AMR and other health threats by 2063. These global and regional efforts underscore the urgent need for collaborative, cross-sectoral, and context-specific actions to move from commitments to implementation and ensure health security worldwide.

Purpose of conference

The 2025 ReAct Africa and South Centre Annual Conference aimed to translate global and regional AMR commitments into practical strategies tailored to local and national contexts, especially in low- and middle-income countries, with a strong focus on Africa. The conference brought together over 200 delegates from 43 countries. The conference brought together a diverse group of stakeholders including government representatives, international and regional bodies, health professionals, civil society, researchers, youth, faith groups, private sector innovators, and media, to align efforts and advance Africa’s AMR priorities.

Objectives

• Evaluate the progress made since the 2024 UNGA HLM AMR and Jeddah commitments to address AMR.
• Identify the nexus at which these commitments intersect with the objectives of the Africa Public Health Agenda, with the aim of harmonizing the continent’s interventions towards health systems strengthening.
• Share experiences and successful models for operationalizing AMR commitments in LMICs, particularly in the African context.
• Raise awareness and understanding about AMR as a critical public health and security issue to policy makers and political class.
• Formulate concrete recommendations for scaling up AMR interventions that areresponsive to local realities and needs.
• Identify opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and investment in AMR control measures.
• Strengthen coordination between sectors (human and animal health, agriculture,environment) for a comprehensive, One Health approach to AMR.