THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2025 41 animal, and environmental health sectors; and health diplomacy skills to enhance cross-discipline awareness and access to scientific expertise. Implementing these priority actions successfully will improve health and food systems, economic stability, scientific research, and population health. Diplomatic Considerations Diplomatic engagement is essential for implementing the “Regional AMR Strategy,” focusing on policy alignment, resource mobilization, and sustaining commitments. For example, establishing a harmonized surveillance system requires negotiating data-sharing agreements, aligning regulations, and mobilizing funding. To navigate political complexities, countries can establish a regional memorandumof-understanding mechanism to enable data sharing and coordination, even amid diplomatic strains. This approach fosters technical collaboration, promotes trust, and generates momentum for broader cooperation. Diplomatic coordination aligns AMR policies with existing frameworks, leveraging SICA’s governance to integrate interventions and foster cross-sector collaboration. Effective research cooperation depends on diplomacy to address intellectual property, funding access, and research harmonization across institutions. Still, a health diplomacy approach to AMR is not without potential challenges—it may overshadow national initiatives, reinforce regional power imbalances, or marginalize nonstate actors critical to AMR efforts. Ensuring inclusivity, transparency, and accountability is the key to mitigating such risks. Evidence-based collaboration and shared governance will translate commitments into action and drive sustained progress despite regional complexities. Because AMR’s impact on health care, agriculture, and trade is transnational, a governance-based strategy to contain it is essential. However, achieving this requires sustained diplomatic engagement to rebuild trust, restore collaboration, and overcome policy barriers. n
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