Abuja Compact consultations: 4 key areas to carry commitments forward

2026-10-21

On 1 October, the AMR Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform convened global multi-stakeholder consultations on the Abuja Compact together with the Government of Nigeria, host of the upcoming Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance in December. ReAct took the floor at the consultations, building on the detailed written submissions we sent in beforehand.

The latest Abuja Compact draft shows progress from earlier versions.

ReAct’s comments focus on four areas:

• Financing
• Governance and accountability
• Community and civil society engagement
• Equitable access and innovation

1. Carry the financing commitments through

The 2024 UN political AMR declaration already set important benchmarks for this moment. It committed to expanding the AMR Multi-Partner Trust Fund to at least USD 100 million with a broadened donor base, and to at least 60 percent of countries having fully funded national action plans by 2030. The Abuja Compact’s operative text should carry these commitments through with the same specificity, so they translate into resources countries can actually plan and implement.

Finacing at country level

This also means addressing how financing reaches the country level. Fragmented international funding can leave governments navigating multiple sources with different priorities and requirements. A dedicated country-donor dialogue platform or financing “facilitation hub” could help align donor priorities with national plans, while mitigating duplication and associated inefficiencies. In addition, publishing national action plans and implementation progress reports would allow civil society and the public to track whether financing commitments are being delivered.

2. Strengthen governance so it works between high-level meetings

The Abuja Compact is an opportunity to clarify how global governance mechanisms work together. This includes a clearer mandate for political oversight between ministerial conferences and a more formalized structure for the ministerial conferences themselves to carry forward momentum and commitments.

Accountability needs a stronger foundation

Accountability needs a stronger foundation. Complementing it with an independent review mechanism, grounded in meaningful civil society and community participation, would strengthen the credibility of reported progress and provide governments with a stronger basis for course correction. The ministerial platform could play an important role in supporting and advancing the implementation of such an accountability framework, in coordination with other governance mechanisms.

3. Make community engagement and equity structural

Communities and civil society are recognized in the Abuja Compact draft. Turning this recognition into practice means giving them a defined and adequately resourced role in shaping, implementing and monitoring for accountability, rather than merely a consultative status. This is consistent with what we heard directly through the From People to Leaders Community Priorities Survey earlier this year. The survey gathered input from 33 countries and called for communities to move toward the center of AMR action and decision making.

Equity needs structural treatment

Equity needs the same structural treatment. ReAct Africa’s submission to the consultation made an important complementary case that gender inequality, poverty and marginalization shape exposure to infection and access to treatment. These realities from the ground should be reflected explicitly in the Compact’s framing and commitments.

Disaggregate AMR surveillance data

ReAct’s comments also called for AMR surveillance data to be disaggregated by sex, age and geography where appropriate so that interventions can respond to real gaps. Financing and workforce commitments should also incorporate gender-responsive budgeting, fair compensation and adequate support for a health workforce that remains predominantly female and often underpaid.

4. Ground access and innovation in public health need

Prevention remains foundational, and the Compact’s ambition on infection prevention, water, sanitation and hygiene deserves concrete targets and implementation measures.

Access to antibiotics: Create regional opportunities

On access, the Compact has an opportunity to support regional manufacturing and technology transfer, preserve legal space for public-interest licensing tools, and encourage pooled procurement mechanisms. Research and development (R&D) needs to remain closely connected to public health priorities. We call for galvanized action by countries to advance public health driven Researhc & Development and access through an equity lens.

Looking ahead

Abuja sits midway between the 2024 UNGA political declaration and the next UN High Level Meeting on AMR in 2029. Much of what this moment needs has already been agreed. The task now is to carry those commitments fully into a Compact specific enough for countries, funders and civil society to implement and follow through on.

Broader effort for AMR governance

This task goes beyond the text of the Abuja Compact itself. The outcome of the forthcoming Abuja Ministerial Meeting and the evolution of the ministerial conference platform should be considered as part of a broader effort to strengthen the global AMR governance system. ReAct will continue to follow this process closely, through Abuja and beyond.