For the fourth year running, the Global Strategy Lab’s AMR Policy Accelerator co-sponsored the ReAct Africa Annual AMR Conference, held July 21 to 22 in Lusaka, Zambia. This year’s theme, “Africa Leading the Way to Institutionalizing Pragmatic People-Centred AMR Solutions from Grassroots to Regional Level,” brought together policymakers, researchers, civil society leaders, and global health experts from across the continent.
“What an incredibly informative and engaging two days in Lusaka, learning from delegates and partners from across the continent who are working tirelessly to combat antimicrobial resistance,” Dr. Kadia Petricca, Senior Policy Lead, shared in a LinkedIn post.
Dr. Petricca participated in a panel on progress, gaps, and urgent priorities in AMR, moderated by Dr. Tracie Muraya (ReAct), alongside panelists Prof. Mirfin Mpundu (ReAct), Dr. Roma Chilengi (Zambia National Public Health Institute), and Dr. Mer’Awi Aragaw (Africa CDC). There, she spoke to strategies supporting greater sustainable financing, and the need to better engage ministries of finance in conversations around prioritizing AMR interventions.
Suzanne Naro, Policy Advisor II, presented a plenary presentation on One Health governance for AMR, followed by a panel discussion with Anna Karin Sjöblom, Dr. Emmanuel Tanui, Dr. Emiliana Francis, and Dr. Martha Gyansa-Lutterodt that explored what existing governance tools on AMR offer, where gaps remain, implementation considerations, and how countries can be better supported to translate commitments into action.
“Strengthening One Health governance is critical to moving countries from commitment to coordinated action. Achieving this requires shared implementation and joint accountability across the human, animal, plant, and environmental sectors,” said Naro.
Last year, in collaboration with ReAct Africa and other partners, the Accelerator delivered the AMR Policymaking Course. From this course, attendees requested practical tools and skills-based training that can be directly applied to their work. In response, the Accelerator developed a three-part online training series, Communicating Policy Ideas, that ran throughout July 2026 and focused on building practical policy skills and tools for AMR action. This virtual course was organized and delivered by Julia Bishop, Clare McGall, Musonda Millapo, Prof. Mirfin Mpundu, Suzanne Naro, Dr. Kadia Petricca, Heba Qazilbash, Kayla Strong, and Demetria Tsoutouras.
The virtual course ended in a live policy pitch session in Lusaka, co-facilitated by Naro and Dr. Petricca, where participants presented their policy ideas to an audience of peers.
Full conference details are available through the ReAct Africa website.
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