From People to Leaders: Why communities must shape the future of AMR governance

2026-06-26

A global survey and webinar reveal a clear message ahead of Abuja: communities want financing, accountability and a meaningful role in decision-making.

Ahead of the Abuja Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), ReAct convened the webinar “From People to Leaders: Community Voices Shaping Abuja 2026” as part of the road to Abuja and beyond initiative. The webinar brought together civil society, community representatives, youth advocates, researchers and global policy actors to discuss how AMR governance and financing can better reflect the realities, priorities and leadership of communities.

The discussion was grounded in the findings of the Community Priorities Survey for Abuja. It gathered:

• 109 responses from 33 countries
• with representation across all WHO regions and a
• approximately 82% of responses coming from low- and middle-income countries.

Respondents represented a diverse range of actors, including civil society organizations, academic and research institutions, community-based organizations, youth organizations, patient advocacy groups, and education and communication actors.

Communities want action, not more declarations

The survey findings were clear: respondents want implementation and financing, not additional declarations.

• Sustainable financing for National Action Plans on AMR emerged as the strongest priority for the Abuja Ministerial Conference
• followed by the inclusion of civil society and communities in AMR governance and
• prevention measures such as water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), infection prevention and control, and vaccination.

More than 90% of respondents considered increased financing for National Action Plan on AMR implementation to be either very urgent or extremely urgent. This reflects a growing concern that many AMR commitments remain underfunded and difficult to put into practice.

Respondents also identified:

• insufficient financing
• weak political accountability
• limited community engagement
• fragmented systems and
• poor cross-sector coordination

as major obstacles preventing AMR commitments from translating into local action.

Accountability matters as much as funding

A second major message from the survey was the need for stronger accountability and transparency.

Respondents repeatedly called for predictable domestic financing, ring-fenced AMR budgets, public reporting on implementation progress, and stronger accountability mechanisms.

Around three quarters of respondents supported annual reporting on National Action Plans, financing and implementation progress, highlighting the demand for greater transparency in how governments deliver on AMR commitments.

WEBINAR

Click to look at the full webinar on Youtube.

AMR is a community issue

Opening the webinar held mid June, Dr Masika Sophie of the World Federation for Animals asked a simple but powerful question:

are AMR policies being made for communities or with communities?

She emphasized that AMR is not an abstract global health issue, but one that affects families, farmers, animal health, food systems and local livelihoods. Civil society organizations, she noted, play a crucial role as bridge-builders between policy spaces and the communities most affected by resistance.

From beneficiaries to leaders

The first panel during the webinar focused on community leadership and implementation. Speakers underlined that communities should not be treated simply as recipients of awareness messages, but as active partners in designing, implementing and holding AMR responses accountable.

Rabia Abeid Khaji from TB Women Tanzania stressed that communities are not failing the AMR agenda; rather, systems often fail to reach and support them. This is particularly true for community health workers, who are often on the frontline of AMR response but lack the training, tools and recognition they need.

Youth and grassroots perspectives were also central to the discussion. Speakers highlighted the need to move away from top-down approaches and towards meaningful, inclusive participation in AMR working groups, policy processes and technical decision-making.

Youth-led AMR initiatives, for example, often lack visibility and formal access to governance structures despite playing an important role in awareness, advocacy and community mobilisation.

Turning commitments into results

The second panel turned to governance, financing and accountability. Catherine Urbaiz of the Health Diplomacy Alliance emphasized that the challenge is not a lack of commitments, but a failure to implement the commitments that already exist.

Dr Philip Matthew of WHO highlighted that AMR financing remains fragmented and too dependent on short-term donor support. Meaningful financing, he argued, requires embedding AMR into national budgets and ensuring that funding reaches subnational and community levels.

Oluwatoni Akinola of the Dr Ameyo Stella Adadevoh Health Trust further stressed the importance of framing AMR not only as a health issue, but also as an economic, development and security issue. Engaging parliamentarians was identified as essential, given their role in approving budgets, shaping policy and maintaining accountability.

Keeping the momentum alive

Although the Abuja Ministerial Conference has been postponed, the urgency of the AMR agenda has not changed. If anything, the additional time creates an opportunity to strengthen collective advocacy and ensure that community and civil society priorities are clearly reflected in future political discussions.

The road to Abuja and beyond process will therefore continue to consolidate messages from the survey and webinar, amplify community perspectives, and advocate for AMR governance that is inclusive, financed, accountable and grounded in lived realities.