In March 2026, an ICARS delegation, including Kristina Osbjer, Theresa Høgenhaug, Claudia Cobo Angel, Carolina Vega and Cèlia Ventura i Gabarró, participated in the 1st Americas Regional Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), held in Brazil. The event brought together government representatives from 23 countries in the region, international organisations including the regional Quadripartite organisations, the Inter-American Development Bank, global partners, researchers, and AMR stakeholders from across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
The meeting brought together more than 250 participants, and ICARS participated as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen regional dialogue and collaboration, to support country-led implementation of AMR solutions, and to advance discussions on sustainable financing and the political prioritisation of AMR interventions across the Americas.
AMR in the LAC region
Despite growing political commitment to address AMR across LAC, important implementation gaps remain. According to the Global Database for Tracking AMR Country Self-Assessment Survey (TrACSS), only 6 of 33 countries in the region reported dedicated funding for AMR National Action Plan implementation, underlining the need for greater and more sustained investment. Existing interventions also remain limited in scale and geographic coverage, with most identified initiatives concentrated in Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and Chile, and very few addressing animal, agrifood or the health of the environment. At the same time, countries across the region have shown strong willingness to strengthen AMR responses through increased collaboration, surveillance, and stewardship efforts, creating important opportunities to expand and sustain action across sectors.
Supporting regional leadership on AMR
The initiative for the regional meeting was taken during Brazil’s G20 Presidency in 2024, where AMR featured prominently in health security discussions. ICARS commends Brazil for taking a regional leadership role on AMR policy to strengthen the implementation of interventions across the continent, and we were pleased to support the organisation of the meeting alongside Brazilian and international partners.
Throughout the meeting, ICARS remained engaged in discussions on how to strengthen implementation of National Action Plans on AMR across One Health sectors through greater political prioritisation, regional coordination, and improved domestic and global financing mechanisms.
Strong ICARS presence across the programme
ICARS had a significant presence and active role throughout the conference, with ICARS staff and multiple project teams from the LAC region contributing presentations and discussions across the programme. ICARS representatives presented the organisation’s overall approach to implementation research and AMR mitigation, status on National Action Plan implementation and AMR mitigation interventions across the region, alongside project partners who presented results from ICARS-supported projects and a publication mapping evidence on interventions to reduce AMR in LAC.
One of the most interactive sessions of the conference, planned by ICARS in collaboration with Brazil’s Ministry of Health, was a SWOT analysis exercise involving all participants from across sectors and organisations. This exercise created space for discussion among attendees to identify regional strengths, gaps, opportunities, and barriers related to AMR policy, financing, implementation, and this will be integrated in a regional mapping.
Outcomes from the exercise will contribute to ongoing regional discussions and upcoming global AMR policy meetings, including the 5th High-Level Ministerial Meeting in Nigeria in June. The Quadripartite organisations will work in collaboration with Brazil and other LAC countries to take the regional mapping forward to inform and align with global efforts to address AMR,
Connecting project teams and regional stakeholders
The meeting also provided an opportunity for ICARS-supported project teams from across LAC (Argentina, Colombia, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Peru, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ) to connect in person, exchange experiences, and strengthen regional networks. ICARS convened project representatives for dedicated discussions and informal networking during the visit, helping facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing across countries and sectors.
The conference followed an ICARS scoping mission in Brazil the week before, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply to explore opportunities for an implementation research project to mitigate AMR in the dairy sector, and reinforced ICARS’ continued commitment to supporting country-led and context-appropriate AMR solutions across Latin America and the Caribbean.
