From Declaration to Action: Insights from the ReAct Asia Pacific 2025 Conference Report

2026-02-24

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as a complex, multi-sectoral challenge with profound implications for global health security, sustainable development, and equity. Although global policy commitments and technical knowledge have expanded significantly, a persistent gap remains between political declarations and effective implementation. Bridging this gap requires sustained platforms that enable interdisciplinary dialogue, knowledge exchange, and collaborative governance across sectors and regions. In this context, ReAct Asia Pacific organized a regional meeting September 2025, now you can learn more about the days and access the meeting report.

Click to download the report from the ReAct Asia Pacific Conference held in September 2025 (PDF, 36 pages).

The conference was co-hosted by ReAct Asia Pacific and the Ministry of Health of Indonesia – and supported by the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS), the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) and the Global Strategy Lab (GSL).

The meeting days provided a critical regional forum for advancing multi-sectoral coordination. Convening more than 100 participants from over 30 countries, the conference brought together policymakers, technical experts, civil society actors, researchers, youth leaders, and development partners to translate global AMR commitments into sustained, country-led implementation.

Click to download the report from the ReAct Asia Pacific Conference held in September 2025 (PDF, 36 pages)

Operationalizing global commitments through regional dialogue

Held under the theme “From Declaration to Action: Operationalizing One Health AMR Commitments in Asia Pacific,” the conference directly responded to the momentum generated by the 2024 United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR and the Jeddah Ministerial commitments. Participants highlighted that regional platforms play a vital role in bridging global frameworks with country-level realities, enabling countries to contextualize AMR priorities within diverse health systems, economic constraints, and governance environments while fostering peer learning and collaborative problem-solving. A common understanding emerged that AMR is fundamentally a health systems and equity issue requiring coordinated action across human, animal, food, and environmental sectors under a One Health framework.

Key takeaways from Jakarta

Multi-stakeholder governance

The conference emphasized the importance of inclusive governance models that extend beyond ministries of health to include agriculture, environmental sectors, academia, and civil society. Indonesia’s leadership in co-hosting demonstrated the value of government-civil society collaboration, emphasizing that effective AMR governance requires integrated One Health mechanisms with active community and youth engagement to strengthen accountability and behavioral change.

Sustainable financing for AMR responses

Delegates highlighted the growing financing gap affecting National Action Plan implementation. With traditional development assistance under pressure, proposed solutions included integrating AMR into domestic budgets, establishing regional pooled funding mechanisms, introducing solidarity levies, and exploring debt-for-AMR swaps. Participants agreed that predictable, long-term financing is essential for ensuring durable containment outcomes.

Embedding AMR into health systems

A recurring theme was integrating AMR stewardship into primary health care, surveillance systems, quality-of-care frameworks, and universal health coverage strategies rather than treating it as a standalone program. Such systemic integration was recognized as critical for sustainability, resilience, and equitable access to diagnostics and antimicrobials.

The road to Abuja 2026: the value of regional synergies

The upcoming 5th High-Level Ministerial Conference on AMR in Abuja, Nigeria, in June 2026 represents a significant milestone as the first such dialogue hosted on the African continent. The Asia Pacific conference demonstrates that regional platforms are essential for consolidating priorities, building consensus, and supporting implementation before global negotiations, ensuring that ministerial deliberations are informed by concrete lessons from the field.

Relevance to the Abuja agenda

Amplifying Global South perspectives

The Asia-Pacific experience reflects challenges shared across regions, particularly regarding equitable access to quality-assured antimicrobials, diagnostics, and sustainable financing. The emphasis on equity and access reinforces the importance of strengthening Global South leadership in shaping global policy discussions.

From policy commitment to implementation

While recent processes have focused on political commitments, Abuja is expected to prioritize implementation and accountability. The Asia Pacific report offers practical examples—strengthening surveillance systems, integrating stewardship into national frameworks, and advancing community-driven initiatives—that can inform how to move from declarative targets to measurable outcomes.

Strengthening regional platforms as drivers of change

Regional dialogue platforms foster cross-country learning, technical exchange, and collaborative problem-solving that support locally owned, regionally coordinated responses. Building and connecting these networks will be critical to ensuring coherent, inclusive, and evidence-informed global decision-making.

Multi-layered response the way forward

The ReAct Asia Pacific Conference 2025 reaffirmed that addressing antimicrobial resistance requires more than global commitments – it demands sustained regional dialogue, inclusive multi-stakeholder engagement, and coordinated governance across sectors grounded in a One Health approach. As the global AMR community moves toward Abuja 2026, the Asia Pacific experience offers a clear message: regional platforms are indispensable for translating political commitments into practical, accountable, and sustainable action, helping to close the gap between declaration and delivery for effective, equitable AMR responses worldwide.