Submission ID 118357
| Issue/Objective | Antimicrobial resistance(AMR) poses an urgent global health threat, with low- and middle-income countries(LMICs) facing the greatest burden. These countries face increasing pressure to translate their National Action Plans(NAPs) into context-sensitive, operational strategies, with implementation often hindered by limited resources, fragmented governance, and insufficient cross-sectoral financing. Prioritizing NAP interventions is, therefore, a critical step to enhance strategic implementation and targeted resource allocation. This oral presentation will outline our in-country experience applying the Smart Choice Process(SCP)-a multi-sectoral approach designed to support LMICs in the prioritization of AMR NAP interventions for implementation. |
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| Methodology/Approach | Since September 2024, the SCP has been implemented in five LMIC settings-Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Malawi, and the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar(Tanzania)-with upcoming workshops planned for Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Ethiopia in 2025. Each in-country workshop convenes thirty to forty technical experts from government, civil society, and academia across the One Health(OH) sectors-human, animal, agriculture, and the environment. Prior to the workshop, participants complete the Prioritization Scoring Tool, scoring interventions across seven indicators: anticipated cost, impact, root drivers, transformative potential, timeline, equity, and alignment. Results categorize interventions as 'Smart Choices' across four priority axes-Quick Wins, Best Buys, Game Changers, and Equity Drivers-and form the basis of the multi-sectoral, facilitated workshop discussion aimed at building consensus on priority interventions to address AMR. |
| Results | Participant feedback highlights that the SCP enhances multi-sectoral engagement and prioritization, promotes greater transparency in national decision-making, and strengthens alignment between AMR priorities and available resources. Through structured dialogue across OH sectors, prioritized interventions reflect the needs, goals, and capacities of each country's context. Participants across each country context further emphasize that the SCP lays a solid foundation for implementation planning by identifying key resource, operational, financial, and coordination needs. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | From implementing the SCP as a tool for prioritizing NAP interventions, our findings underscore the importance of prioritization as both a mechanism for supporting OH governance and strategic resource allocation, as countries work toward sustainable approaches to NAP implementation and impact. We argue that tailored prioritization mechanisms, such as the SCP, are essential for converting ambitious NAPs into actionable, context-specific priorities to ensure effective use of limited resources in addressing AMR. |
| Presenters and affiliations | Kadia Petricca Global Strategy Lab Suzanne Naro Global Strategy Lab Clare McGall Global Strategy Lab Vesela Ivanova Global Strategy Lab Nicole Yuen Wing Chung Global Strategy Lab Julia Bishop Global Strategy Lab Arne Ruckert Global Strategy Lab Geneviève Boily-Larouche Global Strategy Lab Heba Qazilbash Global Strategy Lab |
