A review and planning meeting took place in Bangkok, Thailand during 5-7 March 2025 involving four Fleming Fund Phase 2 focus countries: Bhutan, Lao PDR, Ghana, and Kenya. There were five participants from each country, together with RADAAR partners (including WHOnet and DATAleads) and IVI staff. Aiming to:    

• Review current progress on implementation of the RADAAR-EVIPNet project in focus countries. 
• Share implementation challenges and good practices across the focus countries.
• Brainstorm and provide input for “The Gamechangers” series of policy webinars.  
• Brainstorm and provide input for the establishment of AMR knowledge translation platforms in the focus countries and the central “hub” at IVI 
• Review the content/modules of the AMR Policy Advocacy Country Guide e-learning platform 
• Provide inputs for the development of AMR media advocacy initiatives

The meeting included the following sessions/presentations:

Group activities comprised:

1. Ideation on the content of future policy webinars, including suggestions for:
   • Legislation/legal framework: Strengthen laws/regulation to support One Health activities 
   • Financing: Highlight AMR’s economic impact and enhance opportunities for long-term financial support for AMR programs
   • Advocacy: Improve AMR knowledge among key stakeholders—from clinicians to policymakers
   • Research/knowledge translation: Improve AMR data collection, translation and analysis and use evidence to support AMR policies and government initiatives to ensure sustainability 
   • Media/Community engagement: Inform the public on responsible use/purchase of antibiotics
   • One Health/Governance: Promote collaboration/align efforts among stakeholders/sectors
   • IPC: Link vaccination to AMR prevention
2. Ideation on knowledge synthesis and translation platforms (KSTPs), including insights on:

• Challenges
  • Gaps in data analysis, that can restrict effective utilization of available data for policymaking
  • Integrating One Health sectors
  • Reluctance of countries to share critical data
  • Sustainability of the hub, in terms of ensuring long-term viability and effectiveness 
• Expectations of the hub
  • Facilitate cross-country alert information-sharing, collaboration, and knowledge dissemination
  • Provide SOPs, guidelines, research, policy briefs, and access to databases to enhance coordination and response efforts
  • Provide expert solutions for information inquiries
  • Provide education and communication materials to support capacity building
  • Provide details of global event highlights, announcements, workshops to inform stakeholders
•   Visions
  • More robust system for information-sharing, ensuring transparency in country status and resource availability
  • Streamlining domestic clearance processes, implementing standardized common protocols, and addressing language barriers to improve accessibility and collaboration 
  • Interactive platform for real-time reporting to ensure timely responses to emerging health concerns
  • Consolidate all health research conducted in countries and facilitate discussion and translation of research by key policy actors to enable its uptake in decision-making in the health sector
• Country Contributions
  • Sharing unpublished information to support the hub’s objectives
  • Expert feedback/opinions, supporting the hub’s efforts in knowledge-sharing, capacity building, and refinement of resources

Additional suggestions for a ‘Hub’:

• Behavioral Science: use insights to design effective public health interventions; study behavioral drivers behind AMR/vaccination uptake/health-seeking behaviors; implement evidence-based behavioral change strategies in healthcare settings; and incorporate behavioral economics to improve policy effectiveness.
• Civil Society Engagement: strengthen role of CSOs in health advocacy; enhance public participation in policymaking and implementation; foster partnerships between government and private sector for improved health outcomes; and provide training/resources to empower local communities in addressing health challenges.
• Evidence (and solutions) from LMICs: collect/share best practices and case studies; establish a centralized database for published research/grey literature; encourage evidence-based policymaking using locally-relevant data; and promote regional collaboration to generate and apply context-specific solutions.
• Socio-Economic Issues: share country-specific/global AMR cost analyses; engage experts to embed AMR costs into health policies; offer real-time dashboards on AMR’s economic burden; facilitate discussions on public & private AMR investment; highlight low-cost diagnostics and treatment options; and showcase AMR’s financial impact and successful interventions in LMICs.
• Gender & Equity: ensure gender-sensitive approaches in health policies/programs; promote equal opportunities for women/marginalized communities in health research and decision-making; encourage gender-disaggregated data collection to inform targeted interventions.

The meeting finished with an online poll to obtain participant feedback (21 participants):

1. High level of satisfaction with the workshop: 7 participants very satisfied; 13 satisfied
2. High level with content/relevance to work: 12 very satisfied; 7 satisfied  
3. High level of satisfaction with the facilitators: 12 very satisfied; 8 satisfied
4. Media engagement (5 participants)/Reflections on AMR Surveillance (5)/Promoting Credible Health Information (4) were considered the most valuable sessions 
5. High level of satisfaction with overall organization/flow: 11 very satisfied; 8 satisfied
6. Workshop objectives clearly defined/achieved: all participants (100%)
7. Information presented clearly/engagingly: all participants (100%)
8. Workshop encouraged participation/interaction: all participants (100%)
9. Sufficient time for discussion/questions/interaction: all participants (100%)
10. Appropriateness of venue/arrangements: all participants (100%)
11. Areas for improvement included: logistics and travel/visa arrangements; enhanced participant engagement, such as group exercises; additional contents, including gender and equity, and intercountry group exercises to learn from each other
12. Key takeaways included: the importance of collaboration; the critical nature of advocacy and media engagement; the need for and importance of evidence-based/-informed policymaking; new perspectives on AMR to catalyze innovative solutions; and action is needed now, with a focus on effective policy implementation.