Caribbean Experts Join Regional Leaders to Advance Antimicrobial Resistance Roadmap for the Americas

Bridgetown, Barbados, 23 April 2026 (PAHO/WHO) - Caribbean antimicrobial resistance (AMR) experts joined ministers, technical leaders and global partners in Brasília, Brazil, for the 1st Americas Regional Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance, co-organized by the Government of Brazil and the Quadripartite organizations - the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The meeting aimed to accelerate the development of a coordinated regional roadmap to address AMR through a One Health approach, bringing together human health, animal health, agriculture and environmental sectors. Caribbean representatives contributed national and regional perspectives, underscoring the unique vulnerabilities of small island states and the importance of strengthening laboratory capacity, surveillance, stewardship, infection prevention and control, and community engagement. Their participation was supported through funding from the Fleming Fund.

Participants reviewed the AMR situation in the Americas and discussed persistent gaps in data quality, interoperability, sustainable financing and equitable access to antimicrobials and diagnostics. The role of PAHO's Latin American Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (ReLAVRA+) was reaffirmed as essential for regional coordination and capacity building. Sessions also explored environmental drivers of AMR, antimicrobial stewardship in human and animal health, the role of social sciences, and the potential of artificial intelligence and new technologies.

PAHO/WHO emphasised the urgency of coordinated regional action. "Antimicrobial resistance threatens every country in the Americas, and no sector can address it alone. Strengthening surveillance, improving equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and antimicrobials, and advancing a truly multisectoral One Health response are essential to protect the health and wellbeing of our populations," said Dr. Pilar Ramón Pardo, Chief, Antimicrobial Resistance Special Program on at PAHO/WHO.

The meeting concluded with the initial drafting of a regional AMR roadmap for 2026-2030, which will undergo further consultation ahead of the 5^th High-level Ministerial meeting on AMR, in Abuja, Nigeria in June 2026. Caribbean participation ensured that the region's priorities are reflected in this next phase of multisectoral AMR action across the Americas.