ReAct Impact Report: How ReAct’s work helped move the needle in 2023-2024

2025-06-11

Over the last two years, ReAct has made significant strides in addressing antibiotic resistance through policy advocacy, community engagement, and innovative initiatives. Our newly released Impact Report 2023-24 details ReAct’s role in shaping global governance of antibiotic resistance, empowering local communities, supporting low- and middle-income countries s in implementation work at national level and advancing towards our mission to ensure equitable and sustainable access to effective antibiotics for everyone, everywhere.

From UNGA HLM to regional mobilization

A key ReAct achievement during 2024 was the unprecedented global mobilization around the “From people to Leaders: Act on AMR Now” global campaign and its “Call for Action” which gathered around 800 signatures from 85 countries, including support from more than 200 civil society and community groups. These signatures where handed over to Member states representatives in New York just days before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting (HLM) on AMR, at a full side event “From People to Leaders: Act on AMR NOW!” which ReAct co-organized with civil society partners.

This global campaign was born out of the ReAct Latin America initiative “Empowered communities” which works to strengthen capacity at community level to understand, prevent and respond to antibiotic resistance.

The final UNGA Political Declaration reflected many of the points that ReAct had advocated for (including through this initial UNGA briefing). Some of these included:

• Stronger governance including the setting of with measurable targets to be achieved by 2030
• Commitments to set targets at national level
• Equitable access to effective antibiotics in low- and middle-income countries
• Commitments to increase global financing of the global response

ReAct would have wanted to see even more ambitious commitments, including more binding funding mechanisms, clearer political accountability mechanisms and the adoption of an overall political vision to set better direction for the global response urging bolder action at subsequent forums like the 2024 Global High-Level Ministerial Conference in Saudi Arabia.

Regionally, ReAct expanded its footprint

Over these last two years, ReAct has strategically strengthened its regional presence to support locally driven initiatives, strengthen the link between local and global and foster collaboration among key stakeholders.

Ahead of the UNGA ReAct Africa co-produced a landmark African Union AMR Report which formulate common priorities for the African region in the global antibiotic resistance response. The annual ReAct Africa and South Centre regional conference on AMR continued to grow and enlist broader regional and international representation.

ReAct Asia-Pacific hosted its first regional conference in Jakarta uniting stakeholders from 19 countries in discussions around regional priorities ahead of the UNGA, while ReAct Latin America worked through the “Empowered Communities” Initiative to foster grassroots policies on antibiotic resistance in Bolivia, Guatemala, and Brazil. They also worked through major convening, such as the General assembly of the People Health Movement held in Argentina may 2024 to advance the “From People to Leaders: ACT on AMR now” global campaign and its ‘Call for Action’.

Community-led solutions and youth engagement

ReAct’s bottom-up approach prioritize marginalized voices both through more scientific and artistic approaches. In India, ReAct Asia Pacific piloted the ‘Antibiotic Smart Community’ initiative in Delhi and Bogor, to empower slum residents to monitor antibiotic misuse and advocate for clean water access.

ReAct Latin America used art as advocacy through the “Dancing with Bacteria” musical performance (Latin America).

Regional support for youth and community groups

Across continents, young people and community groups played a pivotal role in advancing the fight against AMR, demonstrating the power of grassroots engagement. Highlights include:

• the launch of the African Youth AMR Alliance Task Force, endorsed by over 30 youth-led organizations across the African region.
• Over 460 African university students joined One Health AMR Clubs, while the ASPIC Youth Leadership Program trained future AMR champions in Asia.
• In Zambia, church-based women’s groups educated communities on hygiene to reduce infections.

Innovation for Access: Rethinking antibiotic development

ReAct continued to advocate for a public health-driven model of innovation as a solution to the decade-long crisis in antibiotic research and development. In the context of the revision of the EU’s pharmaceutical legislation ReAct has engaged in hearings, consultations, briefings and published several position papers against the proposed “market exclusivity voucher” and successfully introducing stricter requirements on access and advanced a broader view of what incentives and structural changes are needed to solve this crisis.

The end-to-end approach that ReAct has been advocating for was reflected in the Swedish EU Presidency High-level meeting on AMR and discussed in the workshop for Eu member states during this meeting. Moreover, a policy brief on ‘Sustainable production’ was published with recommendations on how to limit antibiotic pollution from manufacturing without compromising equitable and affordable access to antibiotics in low- and middle-income countries

Critically, ReAct’s Lancet commentaries influenced debates on how low- and middle-income countries health needs should be better reflected in global research and development of novel antibiotics as well as their equitable availability and accessibility.

Challenges ahead: Financing gaps and systemic barriers

While celebrating progress, this Impact report also flags persistent hurdles in making the global response to antibiotic resistance more effective. National action plan  implementation in low- and middle-income countries still struggle with staffing shortages and weak multi-sectoral coordination. Persistent gaps in healthcare access for women on many countries also shows that addressing gender disparities in the global response as well as through NAP implementation remains a top priority. 

Going forward it is clear that increased political mobilisation on antibiotic resistance in countries is required to keep the issue on the agenda  and to mobilize the financing needed to translate commitments into action in countries. Strengthening of civil society and community capacity to hold governments accountable as well as the unlocking of their capacity to initiate and sustain local change is equally something that ReAct will focus our efforts on in 2025.   

Anna Sjöblom, Director ReAct Europe, says:

“Our work bridges science to policy and action in societies, ensuring that the global response to antibiotic resistance is inclusive and equitable, and addresses the needs in low- and middle income countries. The influence the global ReAct-network have had these last two years from mobilizing communities, to engaging national and regional actors and influencing UN-level discussions and policy making – while also contributing to solutions and impact at local and national level, makes me very proud. And it is a testament to what can be achieved through strategically chosen efforts to catalyze broader action across regions.”