A youth manifesto has been developed as a pathway to engage young people in managing the challenge of antimicrobial resistance. A dedicated body of work has set out the case for young people to be actively engaged in the topic of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), beyond tokenistic awareness-raising. A youth manifesto from the United Nations’ Quadripartite Working Group on Youth Engagement for AMR seeks to generate consensus on how equitable engagement of young people can be realised, despite policy, power and funding challenges. Priority areas The manifesto, described in Nature Communications, defines four priorities: advocacy and engagement, education and capacity building, patient care (humans and animals) and addressing AMR with a One Health approach.It calls for the inclusion of young people on global decision-making platforms and capacity-building initiatives to enable youth-led action against AMR at all levels.A working group behind the manifesto, including Dr Jess Mitchell from the Division of Global Agriculture and Food Systems, represents youth-led or youth-serving organisations from 14 countries.The group considers that youth are recognised as change-makers within the climate change research sector, due to their roles in knowledge-transfer at community level, instigating behavioural changes in the longer term. Young people can drive change instead of being handed knowledge, report authors say. Equity benefits Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents another global challenge which may benefit from the change-making potential of young people, they suggest - however policy, research and action traditionally target adult populations. With governments across the world cutting support for AMR action and aid, youth engagement is timely, the authors say. Although engagement of young people is no substitute for globally robust aid and funding mechanisms, it could offer a route to sustaining the personnel required to operationalise national action plans and other AMR policies. Educational impetus The manifesto creators emphasise a need to broaden public understanding of AMR through education for all youth, not just those in related professions. Early feedback on the manifesto stressed that educational materials should be co-created with, rather than simply delivered to, young people, and that dedicated financing for youth engagement, especially in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), is essential. I joined the Quadripartite Working Group on Youth Engagement for AMR whilst leading an AHRC-funded research project to co-develop AMR educational games and teacher training resources with children in Nepal. It has been a privilege to work alongside global collaborators who see young people as agents for change and not simply passive recipients of knowledge. This emphasises such change-making potential for youth within AMR action, and identifies future research questions and policy engagement options for others working in this space. Dr Jess Mitchell Global Agriculture and Food Systems Related links Youth Manifesto Article in Nature Communications Image credit: Zainul Yasni QiIxg/Unsplash Publication date 02 Dec, 2025
