Behavior change to manage antimicrobial resistance: 8 briefs and 1 webinar-launch by Uppsala Health Summit

2021-08-26

In March 2021, over 600 participants from 72 countries convened to discuss antimicrobial resistance and behavioral change at Uppsala Health Summit. The digital meeting was an opportunity for deep reflection and dialogue on how we should approach the antimicrobial resistance crisis with a greater focus on the social and behavioral factors that drive it, through plenary presentations, online discussions and eight focused workshops.

Insights and recommendations from the workshops have been compiled into eight short briefs. The eight briefs, compiled into a full report, will be launched in a webinar on 8 September.

ReAct presented and took part in several of the workshop discussions and co-organized the workshop on communication. Maria Pränting, ReAct Europe, was part of the Programme Committee and co-organizer of the workshop Making sense of antibiotic resistance – Communicate for behavior change.

Amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, it is important not to forget other ongoing and long-term challenges such as antibiotic resistance. It was encouraging to see the engagement, enthusiasm and immense knowledge among the participants at the summit. I felt there is a recognition of the need to take better stock of past experiences from other fields, as well as of ongoing research and existing behavioral insights.

Currently, new global governance structures are being established, or are in early implementation phase, and more and more countries are moving towards implementing their national action plans. Now there is opportunity to address these aspects more systematically, and involve more behavior and communication experts to facilitate a more efficient response.

says Maria Pränting, Scientific Coordinator, ReAct Europe.