From governance analysis to practice: Integrating the environmental dimension into national One Health AMR strategies
Event Type
Session
Location / Date
Lisbon, Portugal, 05.09.2026
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Dahdaleh Institute of Global Health Research, York University (DIGHR), International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS), Antimicrobial Resistance Multi-Partner Trust Fund (AMR-MPTF), French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD)
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a defining One Health challenge. While human-animal health coordination has advanced through integrated surveillance and stewardship, the environmental dimension – regarding wastewater and waste management, agri-food- systems, and urbanizing landscapes – remains weakly integrated in national strategies to tackle AMR. Yet, environmental factors play a crucial role in the emergence and transmission of AMR, with disproportionate exposure of populations and ecosystems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The 2024 UN Political Declaration on AMR strengthens One Health commitments but acknowledges that the environmental dimension requires further operationalization, making governance research on this pillar both timely and urgent.
This session brings together governance researchers, epidemiologists, and practitioners to address this gap. Insights from recent governance research on environmental AMR across four countries provide input for policy reflections at multiple levels. The case studies on Cambodia and Senegal examine barriers and opportunities for integrating environment and equity into AMR strategies through two complementary analytical
perspectives – Polycentric Governance and Urban Political Ecology – while evidence from Cameroon and Tanzania draws lessons from tested technical and policy interventions to mitigate the environmental spread of AMR. These research insights are set in dialogue with global and national policy perspectives from policy decision makers at global and national levels, bridging analysis, multilateral governance, and country-level practice across all three One Health sectors.
Objectives of the session are:
(i) understand why environmental integration remains challenging in national AMR governance and which technical and institutional factors determine progress; and
(ii) identify governance entry points for embedding environmental and equity dimensions into One Health policy solutions.
14:00 – 14:08 Dr. Raphael Aguiar (GIZ) Welcome and Introduction
Background and conceptual framing
Introduction of the Agenda
Introduction of the speakers
Invite the keynote speaker, Ms. Jacqueline Alvarez to deliver her keynote
(Suggestion: Mentimeter Question to engage audience: In a word or phrase: What is the biggest barrier to integrating environmental dimension into national AMR governance?)
14:09 – 14:18 Ms. Jacqueline Alvarez, (QJSAMR) Keynote (video recorded)
Global governance landscape of AMR
14:19 – 14:40 Insights from research on governance of AMR in the environment (@ 7 minutes each)
Dr. Marion Bordier, CIRAD: Towards a socio-ecosystemic response to antibiotic resistance in Senegal
Dr. Srinivasa Srigiri, IDOS: Institutional analysis for environmental integration in AMR strategies of Cambodia
Dr. Sunday Ochonu Ochai, ICARS: Interventions to mitigate the environmental spread of antimicrobial resistance in Tanzania
14:40 – 15:25 Panel discussion
Moderator: Dr. Srinivasa Srigiri
Questions to Panellists (30 min) and Open Q&A (10 min)
Two rounds of questions to the panellists and one final question:
1. Mr. Sophal Laska, Director, Department of Hazardous Substance Management, General Directorate for Environmental Protection, Ministry of Environment, Royal Government of Cambodia Q1: Cambodia’s One Health architecture formally includes the Ministry of Environment. From your experience, how does this work in practice when it comes to AMR policy – and what would strengthen the environmental sector’s role? Q2: What role do international partners and external frameworks — such as the Quadripartite or bilateral projects – play in shaping how environment features in Cambodia’s AMR agenda? Is this helpful or does it create its own challenges?
2. Dr. Mouhamadou Moustapha Sow, Université Gaston Berger, Senegal Q1: In Senegal’s context, who bears the greatest environmental AMR risks, and how well does the current governance landscape reflect their concerns? Q2: “When environmental and health priorities compete for attention and resources in Senegal, how are trade-offs typically resolved – and who decides?”
3. Ms. Bruna Coelho Lopes, Federal University of Menas Gerais/ Fundação Christiano Ottoni, Brazil Q1: Brazil has invested significantly in wastewater surveillance. What happens once the data on environmental AMR exists — does it reach the right decision-makers, and does it lead to action? Q2: Is the challenge in Brazil more about connecting environmental surveillance to the health and agriculture sectors, or about building the environmental sector’s own capacity and mandate for AMR? Where does the bottleneck sit?
Final Question for quick answer to all panlists:
If you could change one thing about how environmental actors are involved in AMR governance in your country, what would it be?
Open Q&A with audience (last 10 minutes)
15:25 – 15:30 Dr. Raphael Aguiar Wrap up: - 3 to 5 key messages
(Suggestion: Mentimeter Question to engage audience: In a word or phrase: Based on what you heard today, where should reform efforts focus first to strengthen environmental integration?)
Hinweis
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