The Quadripartite agencies - the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) - are pleased to announce a call for expressions of interest from representatives of youth-led and youth-serving organizations to serve on the Quadripartite Working Group on Youth Engagement for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Those with experience of working on AMR and under the age of 30 are strongly encouraged to apply.
The Working Group was inaugurated in October 2023 with the first cohort representing 14 youth-led and youth-serving organizations from around the world. Read more about the Working Group, its mandate and activities here.
AMR represents a major global threat across human, animal, plant, food, and environmental sectors. AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial agents. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents become ineffective and infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. Misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in humans, animals and plants are accelerating the development and spread of AMR. In 2021, bacterial AMR was directly responsible for an estimated 1.14 estimated deaths and associated with a total of 4.71 million deaths, and without decisive action, AMR could claim 39 million lives by 2050.
Young people were identified as a priority target audience during the global consultation meetings on AMR awareness-raising held in 2022. Subsequently, the Quadripartite launched the Working Group on Youth Engagement for AMR with an aim to meaningfully engage youth in the global AMR response. ‘Meaningful adolescent and youth engagement’ is defined as ‘an inclusive, intentional, mutually respectful partnership between adolescents, youth and adults whereby power is shared, respective contributions are valued. Young people’s ideas, perspectives, skills and strengths are integrated into the design and delivery of programmes, strategies, policies, funding mechanisms and organizations that affect their lives and their communities, countries and world.
The objective of the Quadripartite Working Group on Youth Engagement for AMR is to guide the engagement of the Quadripartite with youth in order to harness the energy of this population in the global fight against AMR. The Working Group will build on existing work by Quadripartite agencies with youth in other contexts (e.g., UNEP’s Young Champions of the Earth; FAO’s Supporting Responsible Investments in Agriculture and Food Systems, RAI; WHO Youth Council) and will both feed into and learn from the work of the other Working Groups to ensure synergy.
The functions of the Working Group are described in the attached Terms of Reference.
To apply, please:
- Review the Terms of Reference available here;
- Fill out the form here and upload a brief CV by 05 September 2025.
Your CV should specify your full contact information, current position, educational background and publications. In the form, you can also describe your experience working in AMR and youth engagement. The organization you are representing should be formally registered in any country, and you should be able to provide registration documents, list of members, source of funding and latest annual report, when requested by the quadripartite. All applications will be treated in strict confidence. At this time, only applications in English will be considered.