Congress of the European Society of
Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Co-hosted by ESCMID and the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (GLG), CARB-X, LifeArc, the Novonordisk Foundation and the Gates Foundation.
ESCMID invites you to participate in this joint high-level AMR event co-hosted by ESCMID and the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (GLG), CARB-X, LifeArc, the Novonordisk Foundation and the Gates Foundation taking place on Friday, 17 April 2026 onsite at ESCMID Global 2026 in Munich, Germany. With the Independent Panel for Evidence for Action against AMR (IPEA) in the making, it is important to move now from commitments into action. Connecting science and policy has never been more important and this meeting aims to bridge that gap.
Two parallel Working Groups will lead into the plenary session. Both are open to all ESCMID Global participants and designed to foster interactive, solution-oriented discussions.
This Working Group will examine how modelling and economic analysis can guide effective AMR policy decisions within a One Health context.
The session will be highly interactive and structured around six short interventions by invited discussants, followed by open discussion with all participants.
Speakers:
Understanding the global drivers of AMR
Lulla Opatowski (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France)
Understanding transmission pathways of AMR and mechanisms driving emergence and cross-sectoral spread
Patrick Musicha (Malawi liverpool wellcome programme, Blantyre, Malawi)
Modelling the potential impact of AMR interventions
Joseph Lewnard (University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, USA)
What is the national and global economic impact of current AMR trends across One Health sectors
Julie Robotham (Imperial College London, London, UK)
Cost-effectiveness/cost-benefit of prevention strategies to mitigate AMR
Shiela Marie Selisana (Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program foundation (HITAP), Nonthaburi, Thailand)
Cost-effectiveness/cost-benefit of treatment strategies to mitigate AMR
Yiying Cai (Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore)
Diagnostics are central to effective AMR mitigation, enabling early detection, targeted treatment, and rational antibiotic use. However, challenges persist across development, evaluation, reimbursement, and implementation - particularly regarding real-world cost-effectiveness, system-level integration, and equitable access.
This Working Group will identify key diagnostic needs, map barriers along the product development and implementation pathway, and propose an evidence-based framework to guide innovation.
The discussion will highlight economic, clinical, and contextual considerations across diverse healthcare settings.
Following a brief introduction, the session will feature six short interventions by invited discussants, followed by an open discussion.
Speakers:
Diagnostics in Context: Innovation, Adaptation, and Barriers to Uptake
Mirfin Mpundu (ReAct Africa, Lusaka, Zambia)
Trials That Matter: Evidence-Driven Diagnostics for Health Systems
Julia Bielicki (University Children's Hospital Basel (UKBB), Basel, Switzerland)
The social lives of POCT
Clare Chandler (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK)
Costing the global good of diagnostics
Chantal Morel (University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland)
Affordable and accessible solutions - partnerships and challenges!
Ghada Zoubiane (LifeArc, London, UK)
The plenary session will explore the overarching theme AMR Under Pressure: Smart Policies for Lean Times from different perspectives.
Keynote lecture:
How AMR policy action can be strengthened under financial and operational constraints—emphasising opportunities to achieve more with limited resources.
AMR Policy Action Under Pressure – doing more with less
Naomi Rupasinghe (World Bank, Washington, USA)
This will be followed by four thematic talks covering:
1. Efficient and effective IPC
Benedetta Allegranzi (WHO, Geneva, Switzerland)
2. Prevention Pays Off: Vaccination Policies for AMR
Padmini Srikantiah (Gates Foundation, Seattle, USA)
3. Global AWaRe targets and national cost savings
Koen Pouwels (University of Oxford, Oxford, UK)
4. A gram of prevention or a kilo of cure?
Javier Yugueros-Marcos (World Organisation for Animal Health, Paris, France)
Conclusion
A panel discussion will focus on prioritising cost-effective interventions, aligning national policies with global commitments, and exploring mechanisms for cross-sectoral funding.
Registration for ESCMID Global 2026 in Munich is now open.
Register now to get the early registration fee and attend the world’s most eminent event in the field of infection.