From people to leaders: strengthening community voices in the AMR response

2026-09-23

On 15 September 2026, the Antimicrobial Resistance Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform (AMR MSPP), in collaboration with ReAct, convened a webinar to bring community and civil society perspectives into global discussions on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Held ahead of the 4th MSPP Plenary Assembly in Rome and the Fifth Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on AMR in Abuja, the webinar explored how global commitments can translate into meaningful and measurable change for communities.

The September webinar marked the second dialogue in the 2026 From People to Leaders: Road to Abuja process. It built on a global community survey and the first dialogue held in June, moving the discussion from identifying implementation barriers to asking what concrete political commitments could address them, and how progress could be measured by 2028.

From community evidence to dialogue

With over 200 participants from 100 countries, spanning animal health, human health, One Health, environment and agrifood sectors, the session reflected that strong interest in community-driven AMR action is truly global.

“Communities and civil society must remain at the centre of the AMR response, and political commitments need to reflect the realities of people affected by resistant infections, as well as those working every day to prevent and respond to them”,

said Nelea Motriuc, Coordinator of the AMR MSPP, kicking off the session.

The webinar opened with findings from ReAct’s “From People to Leaders: Road to Abuja” initiative. A global implementation survey of 109 respondents across 33 countries – around 82% of them from low- and middle-income countries – found sustainable financing for National Action Plans to be the strongest priority for Abuja. Meaningful inclusion of civil society and communities in AMR governance and prevention, including WASH, IPC and vaccination, were also among the leading priorities. Across the responses, accountability emerged as a cross-cutting concern: participants called for transparent reporting, measurable progress and stronger mechanisms to ensure that commitments translate into implementation.

Respondents also highlighted a strong equity dimension, identifying people living in rural or geographically remote areas and marginalized or low-income communities among the groups most often overlooked in AMR policies and actions.

What speakers called for

Across the discussions, speakers stressed that AMR cannot be addressed through antimicrobial stewardship alone. Prevention also requires tackling the structural conditions that drive infections and antimicrobial use, including inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), gaps in infection prevention and control, insufficient biosecurity, and fragmented human, animal and environmental surveillance systems. A recurring message was the implementation gap – rather than a shortage of strategies or declarations – is the core challenge, and that national action plans need sustained financing, clear targets and measurable results.

“People” side

The first panel brought the “people” side of the dialogue to the fore, grounding the discussion in the realities communities face when global AMR commitments do not translate into local action.

Speakers also emphasized that communities and civil society should not only be consulted, but meaningfully involved in the design, implementation, and monitoring of AMR policies. Regina Kamoga, Executive Director at CHAIN Uganda, stressed that communities often understand their own needs and implementation realities best, and should be engaged as partners in planning, implementation and monitoring rather than primarily as recipients of interventions designed elsewhere. The discussion also explored what it would take to embed meaningful participation within AMR governance over the long term.

Proposed approaches included permanent and funded community participation mechanisms, stronger accountability tools and more integrated One Health surveillance.

“Community advisory boards and social accountability mechanisms, and related institutional bodies should be seen as core elements of broader public policy. The protection of these mechanisms should be designed by law, because with institutional permanence and legal stability, these spaces can endure across political cycles and sustain multigenerational engagement”,

stated Marina Paulelli, Health Programme Coordinator, Brazilian Institute of Consumer Protection (IDEC), ReAct Latin America.

“Leaders” side

The second panel moved explicitly to the “leaders” side of the dialogue, asking how these priorities could be translated into political commitments ahead of Abuja. Government and international actors emphasized prevention, responsible antimicrobial use, sustainable financing, accountability and stronger local implementation, with a focus on commitments that could demonstrate measurable progress by 2028.

Asked what governments should commit to in Abuja and be able to demonstrate progress on by 2028, speakers pointed to financed implementation of National Action Plan priorities; reliable WASH and infection prevention and control standards; stronger, integrated One Health surveillance; and permanent, resourced mechanisms for community and civil society participation and accountability.

Watch the webinar on Youtube.

What’s next

Looking ahead, the 4th MSPP Plenary Assembly, taking place at FAO headquarters in Rome from 16–18 November 2026, will provide an important opportunity to take these discussions forward and consolidate stakeholder priorities ahead of the Fifth Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on AMR in Abuja on 6–8 December 2026. The discussions underscored a clear priority for the months ahead: translating political commitments into sustained financing, accountability, and measurable progress at country and community levels.

Abuja should therefore be seen not as an endpoint, but as part of a longer accountability cycle: follow-up will be needed to assess whether commitments reach implementation and whether measurable progress can be demonstrated by 2028. Looking further ahead, the UN General Assembly will convene another High-Level Meeting on AMR in 2029 to review implementation of the 2024 Political Declaration.