Bridging the AMR divide: Reflections from the WHA79 side event on equity, access, and community-led solutions

2026-05-28

At the 79th World Health Assembly (WHA79), ReAct Africa and the World Council of Churches convened a side event titled “Bridging the AMR Divide: Equity, Access, and Community-Led Solutions.” The dialogue brought together voices from global health institutions, faith-based organisations, civil society, and community-centred networks to examine a critical but often under-addressed dimension of antimicrobial resistance (AMR): equity.

The discussion challenged participants to reconsider how AMR is framed globally and whose realities are prioritised in shaping responses.

Structural barriers in low- and middle-income countries

While global attention continues to focus heavily on innovation, surveillance, and research and development, participants highlighted that many low- and middle-income countries continue to face structural barriers that drive AMR risk and worsen health outcomes. Weak health systems, limited access to diagnostics, poor water and sanitation infrastructure, medicine stockouts, and financial barriers to care remain everyday realities for many communities most affected by AMR.

Throughout the dialogue, speakers emphazised that antimicrobial resistance cannot be addressed solely as a biomedical challenge. AMR is also deeply shaped by poverty, inequity, fragile health systems, and unequal access to healthcare and essential medicines.

Communities are active partners

A recurring theme during the session was the importance of moving beyond viewing communities as passive recipients of interventions. Instead, participants stressed the need to recognise communities as active partners with lived experience, local knowledge, and trusted systems capable of driving sustainable AMR responses.

Faith-based organizations important actor in the African region

Faith-based organizations were highlighted as particularly important actors in this work. In many settings, they remain longstanding providers of primary healthcare services and maintain deep trust within communities. However, despite their contribution to service delivery and community engagement, participants noted that faith-based organizations are still insufficiently represented in AMR governance structures, financing mechanisms, and policy co-creation processes.

Speakers also underscored the importance of contextualising AMR interventions to reflect local realities. Community-generated knowledge, social norms, economic pressures, and environmental conditions all influence antimicrobial use and access patterns. Participants argued that effective AMR policy must therefore be informed not only by technical expertise, but also by community realities and lived experiences.

One of the central reflections emerging from the session was a powerful question posed during the discussion:

“What would AMR policy look like if it started in the community?”

This question framed much of the conversation around the need for people-centred and equity-driven AMR responses. Participants called for stronger investment in water, sanitation, infection prevention and control, diagnostics, and community health systems alongside broader AMR interventions. Equitable access to healthcare products and services was repeatedly identified as a prerequisite for effective antimicrobial stewardship.

Achieving global AMR targets

The event further reinforced that achieving global AMR targets, including commitments made during the 2024 United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR, will require more intentional inclusion of communities, civil society, and frontline actors in decision-making spaces.

The side event served as an important reminder that addressing antimicrobial resistance requires more than scientific advancement alone. Sustainable progress will depend on whether global AMR responses are grounded in equity, shaped by communities, and responsive to the realities faced by those most affected.