Reflections from the EU JAMRAI2 Annual Meeting

2026-02-20

More than 35,000 people die each year in the EU/EEA as a result of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, highlighting a growing threat that reflects global trends. In this context, the EU Joint Action on Antimicrobial Resistance (EU JAMRAI 2) held a meeting at the end of January, bringing together representatives from EU Member States, Norway, Iceland, Ukraine, and more than 130 partner organizations worldwide. Here are some reflections from Anna Sjöblom, Director ReAct Europe who participated in the meeting days.

Several recent reports point to a deteriorating situation in Europe, with one of the strongest warning signs being the rise in infections caused by bacteria resistant to carbapenems, a last resort class of antibiotics. Resistant infections also contribute to an estimated 2.5 million additional hospital days annually in Europe and has an annual societal costs of 1 Billion Euro.

Addressing this cross-border health threat effectively will require going beyond a sector by sector and country by country approach. Instead joint European and global action, interdisciplinary collaborations and a whole-of- society approach is urgently needed.

In the last week of January, ReAct was invited to deliver a keynote speech on the opening day of the EU JAMRAI second Annual Meeting in Vienna, hosted by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection (BMASGPK) and the National Public Health Institute (GÖG). Nearly 300 policymakers, experts, and stakeholders from across the One Health spectrum participated.

Reflecting on the EU‑JAMRAI2 Annual Meeting, several patterns stood out that illustrate how ambition can translate into action.

Political turbulence – and protecting effective antibiotic

The meeting took place against a backdrop of political turbulence: Europe’s shifting role in geo-politics, the approaching four year mark since the full scale invasion of Ukraine, and a general sense of uncertainty and multiple crises and competing priorities.

In this situation of multiple crisis – the concern remained whether the urgency to protect antibiotic effectiveness, for patients today and tomorrow, will in fact given the attention and resources needed to avoid the devastating impact of unchecked resistance development?

National commitment from EU Member states

While local initiatives demonstrate what is possible, translating these insights into national strategies requires political commitment and structured support.

The meeting highlighted both the progress and the remaining challenges in national commitment to tackling antimicrobial resistance. In her opening remark, DG SANTE’s Sandra Gallina underlined the urgency of the issue, stating that:

“AMR is more than a priority – it is an urgent existential fight.”

She presented the scope of EU‑JAMRAI 2, backed by a €62.5 million EU4Health program budget, emphasizing that sustained national commitment is now crucial for translating these plans into action. She also made the point that success now depends on unwavering national commitment from EU Member state thereby passing over the baton to them.

EU‑JAMRAI 2 coordinator Marie Cécile Ploy reinforced this message, calling for acceleration in implementation and stressing the value of local initiatives:

“Think local.”

These interventions highlighted a recurring theme: policies provide a framework, but the real impact depends on strong infrastructure, engaged stakeholders, and continuous peer-to-peer learning. Small-scale pilot projects, when supported and shared, can provide lessons that inform broader national strategies and inspire scalable solutions.

Making change happen: Insights from ReAct

At ReAct, we have seen firsthand what it takes to turn plans into real action on antibiotic resistance. Drawing on our global experience, we emphasize the importance of:

• participatory, bottom-up approaches
• re-contextualizing strategies to fit local realities
• building capacity
• establishing strong infrastructure
• engaging champions and
• sustaining political will.

ReAct’s experience shows that change often begins locally – within professional networks, communities, and through peer-to-peer learning. Small-scale pilot projects can demonstrate what is possible and provide valuable lessons that can later be scaled up. These global lessons also emphasize the importance of seeing change where it begins – often at the local level.

Examples of successes, challenges and lessons learned

The meeting showcased numerous examples of successes, challenges and lessons learned from EU JAMRAI 2’s various work packages on infection prevention and control, surveillance, stewardship, and communication among other.

One particularly interesting session examined barriers and facilitators to access to medicines and vaccines where The Norwegian Institute of Public Health presented an initiative to strengthen access to antibiotics recommended for treating carbapenem–resistant infections – essential to avoid use of colistin, the very last line of defense. Unreliable access fuels resistance, and there is hardly any alternatives underway, given the weak state of the Research & Development pipeline. The joint work on access to aztreonam aimed to map and bring attention to shortages, and mapping showed that no country has a stockpile today. It involved EMA to notify manufactures, and worked to improve packaging, make available information leaflets in local languages.

Other highlights included pilots in the animal and environmental sector and new innovative surveillance methods.

Europe: collaboration is key

For ReAct, which works primarily in regions with far fewer resources than Europe, it’s inspiring to see that EU-JAMRAI2 focuses on both collaboration between countries and institutions, implementation at country level, bringing together multidisciplinary teams and practical approaches. Europe clearly has the resources and the expertise to manage antibiotic resistance much more forcefully across sectors to prevent rising mortality from resistant bacteria, but the political will in all EU Members States to priorities this work will need to match up. And the success of this initiative will depend on what will be done also beyond the work-packages and projects that is part of EU-JAMRAI2.

Europe’s efforts are important in ensuring that global commitments from the 2024 United Nations High-level Meeting on AMR can be met by 2030. While EU JAMRAI2 is vital for coordinated action within Europe, the region should take even more responsibility in leading by example internationally, and support countries where AMR burdens are high and resources are very limited.