In February 2026, CAMO-Net attended the AMR 2026 Summit in Sydney, Australia, bringing together more than 290 participants from 37 countries across government, research, policy, and practice. The three-day meeting focused on how global commitments on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) can translate into delivery, with discussions spanning data, financing, stewardship, and implementation.
With contributions from CAMO-Net colleagues based in the UK, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Timor-Leste, our presence reflected the network’s role in connecting research with real-world implementation across different health system contexts, and its ongoing involvement in shaping global AMR discussions. A central theme of the summit was the gap between commitment and delivery. In the opening keynote, Australia’s Ambassador for Global Health, Chris Cannan, emphasised the need to align policy and investment: “Only through aligning our diplomacy… with our investments can we cut the outbreak risk and build resilient health systems.”
This focus on implementation was reflected in sessions involving CAMO-Net researchers. Professor Alison Holmes, CAMO-Net lead, moderated a session on the AMR implementation divide, which explored why national plans often struggle to translate into action. Discussions highlighted the importance of country ownership, governance, and context-specific delivery rather than additional global commitments.
Across the programme, CAMO-Net members contributed perspectives grounded in frontline experience. Professor Nelson Martins, CAMO-Net Timor-Leste lead, highlighted how supply chain challenges affect access to antibiotics in Timor-Leste, noting the delays caused by procurement and budgeting processes: “When approval comes late… by the time the drugs arrive, it’s already too late for the clinic.” In a session on antimicrobial stewardship, Dr Senjuti Saha, CAMO-Net Bangladesh lead, emphasised the role of communication and community engagement in addressing AMR: “99.9999 percent of the world will not read our papers… That’s why working with communities… is so important.” Similarly, Professor Anna Levin reflected on how resistance reflects broader system challenges: “Resistance… is really a reflection of the systems not working.”
The importance of communication, and how it is done, was also highlighted in sessions involving CAMO-Net South Africa co-lead Associate Professor Esmita Charani. Drawing attention to how global health narratives are shaped, she noted: “When we use images of people from low- and middle-income countries it is often images of women and children of colour who are given far less power, agency, dignity, and respect… this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
This reinforced a broader theme across the summit: that communication is not neutral, and that how AMR is presented can influence trust, engagement, and ultimately action.
Alongside these contributions, the summit reinforced several consistent messages: that data must lead to decisions, that financing and accountability remain key constraints, and that implementation depends on aligning incentives, systems, and local context.
CAMO-Net’s involvement across these discussions reflects its focus on moving beyond high-level commitments to practical, context-specific solutions. By contributing evidence and experience from multiple countries, the network continues to support global efforts to ensure that antimicrobials remain effective and accessible.
The recently published AMR 2026 Summit Report brings these discussions together, alongside a set of practical actions intended to support progress through to 2029.
