ICARS was represented at the One Health Summit in Lyon, France, by Helle Engslund Krarup (Executive Director), alongside Theresa Høgenhaug (Head of Partnerships and Global Relations) and Rodolphe Mader (Senior Science Advisor). The Summit brought together global leaders from governments, international organisations, academia, and the private sector to advance the One Health agenda and address some of the world’s most pressing challenges, including antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
About the Summit
The three-day Summit (5-7 April) convened around 2,000 participants from 153 countries, featuring high-level political sessions with Heads of State and Government, ministerial discussions, a scientific symposium with over 600 participants, and more than 250 speakers across 12 sessions. A wide range of partners also contributed through side events and the One Health Discovery Village, which showcased innovative approaches to global health challenges.
AMR in the spotlight
AMR was a central focus of the Summit, highlighted as a growing global threat requiring coordinated action across human, animal, and environmental health. Building on commitments made at the 2024 UN High-Level Meeting on AMR, discussions emphasised the need to translate political commitments into practical implementation, strengthen sustainable financing, and accelerate cross-sector collaboration.
ICARS at the Summit
Helle Engslund Krarup joined the thematic session on “Combating Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): Turning commitment into impact”, in a high-level panel on the effective implementation of international AMR commitments. She shared the impact and results from several ICARS’ projects from our overall portfolio of over 70 projects across more than 30 countries, demonstrating how country-led implementation research approaches are helping translate National Action Plans on AMR into concrete action and progress in low- and middle-income countries.
She also highlighted lessons learned from our work, underscoring the importance of context-appropriate solutions, strong national ownership, and multi-sector partnerships to ensure sustainable impact and policy uptake beyond project lifecycles.
Helle was joined on the panel by Professor Mustapha Ferjani (Minister of Health, Tunisia), Dr Ayano Kunimitsu (State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan), and Mr Orazio Schillaci (Ministry of Health, Italy).
The session further showcased international efforts to strengthen implementation, financing, and innovation in AMR, reinforcing the importance of moving from policy dialogues to measurable action in the countries with the highest burdens. Discussions across the Summit echoed ICARS’ mission to support countries in developing and scaling practical, evidence-based solutions across the One Health spectrum.
Next steps
A summary of recommendations was published as a result of the discussions that took place, including the following six recommendations for AMR:
- Declare antimicrobials and their effectiveness a global public good
- Accelerate country-tailored implementation of One Health National Action Plans informed by an international meta-network
- Strengthen the science-policy-society interface on AMR in the One Health and sustainable context.
- Address AMR within the context of global environmental and societal challenges.
- Promote OH innovations for prevention, diagnostics and treatment.
- Integrate agricultural systems (livestock, aquaculture, crop production) and value chains into AMR strategies.
ICARS welcomes this strong commitment to address AMR by France and look forward to continuing our work in close partnership, emphasizing the need for implementation of context-appropriate solutions in LMICs.
