A just transition for antimicrobial resistance: the need for more forms and a broader scope of justice

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health challenge that, like climate change, demands urgent, coordinated, multi-sectoral action. Yet, responses to AMR may be ill-suited to local contexts, overlook historical inequalities, or dismiss marginalised knowledge systems. These concerns can be discussed using the concept of a just transition, which aims to ensure that ‘no one is left behind,’ ‘all voices are heard’, and past injustices are addressed. However, framing justice in these terms is insufficient. We argue for a more multifaceted and broader-scoped understanding of what justice demands in a just transition for AMR. We examine existing justice frameworks in AMR literature and discuss two cases that motivate our call for including both more forms of justice in a multifaceted concept of a just transition, and a broader scope of justice. The first case involves over-the-counter antibiotic access in the Kibera informal settlement near Nairobi, and highlights structural injustices resulting from colonial oppression, and what an Ubuntu philosophy would highlight as injustice. The second concerns veterinary prescription requirements for Maasai pastoralists’ livestock farming in southern Kenya, and highlights epistemic, and distributive injustices, and injustices that befall non-human animals. These examples reveal distinct injustices, shaped by socio-cultural, and ecological contexts.