Placement: Uppsala/part-time remote
Spring 2025, 20 weeks
About the organisation
Created in 2005, ReAct - Action on Antibiotic Resistance, is one of the first international independent networks to articulate the complex nature of antibiotic resistance and its drivers. ReAct is a catalyst, advocating for global engagement to identify and promote innovative and ecologically grounded solutions to contain antibiotic resistance that contribute to universal health coverage, poverty reduction and global development.
We work across disciplines advocating for the adoption of a holistic view of the problem and solutions that engage all of society. We work at the local, national and international level, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We aim to ensure responses and solutions are informed by and adapted to countries’ individual contexts and realities.
ReAct has regional nodes in Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Europe. Our small global network convenes and collaborates with a broad range of partners including communities, civil society organizations, patient organizations, academia, governments, and international bodies such as UNICEF, UNEP and WHO.
Our vision is a world free from untreatable infections and our mission is to enable collective action that ensures sustainable and equitable access to effective antibiotics for all. Our strategic objective are:
1. Governance structures on antibiotic resistance including sufficient funding to implement national action plans, are transparent, accountable and responsive to LMICs needs; and have a framework in place to actively engage with civil society.
2. A One Health approach is advanced to minimize spread of antibiotic resistance that is responsive to LMIC needs, and with a strong focus on National Action Plans implementation, health systems strengthening and community engagement.
3. A public health driven approach for development and delivery of new antibiotics and diagnostics and where access for people in LMICs is central will take stronger root among governments and international institutions.
A few examples of our impact in recent years:
• ReAct was involved in developing recommendations of the UN Interagency Coordination Group on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which called upon agencies (WHO, WOAH and FAO) to put forward an AMR-specific indicator for the SDGs.
• ReAct and partners arranged a workshop series for promoting a systematic and meaningful engagement of communities and civil society groups as key stakeholders in the global response to AMR.
• ReAct and PAHO have launched a Call for Global Action towards the UN General Assembly High-level Meeting on AMR.
• ReAct hosted a dialogue meeting gathering experts from more than 20 countries to discuss concrete ways to achieve stronger global actions on AMR.
• The ReAct Toolbox provides comprehensive, high quality information and tools to support stakeholders to understand, raise awareness, gather data and implement interventions and develop policies on antibiotic resistance. It has been featured by WHO and has 200,000 visits/year.
Internship assignments
Through this internship, the intern will gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of antibiotic resistance, one of the major current challenges to global health and sustainable development. The intern will be familiarized with ongoing initiatives to manage resistance across the world and the involved actors, and what efforts are still needed. Interns at ReAct participate directly in ReAct projects as well as day-to-day activities, and will gain experience working in an advocacy-focused organization, with ample opportunity to expand networks and contribute with knowledge and insights from previous education or work/internship experiences.
The intern will contribute to the work of ReAct with the following tasks:
• Maintaining and updating the ReAct Toolbox, our online knowledge hub, https://www.reactgroup.org/toolbox/.
• Helping to plan and with logistics for internal and external meetings and workshops.
• Preparing background materials and presentations.
• Creating content for our global communication channels (social media, website and newsletter).
In addition, as part of the ReAct Europe team, the intern will:
• Participate in internal ReAct meetings.
• Represent ReAct in external meetings and workshops.
• Support the planning and execution of relevant ongoing ReAct activities.
• Follow selected policy and science news outlets, participate in webinars and help review priority literature to collate key takeaways of relevance to ReAct’s ongoing activities.
• Opportunity to take initiative and contribute to ReAct’s work alongside the ongoing 2025 Work Plan, based on the interns own skills and interests.
Qualifications
• A background in a relevant area such as Global health, Sustainable Development, Political Science, Communications, Behavioral sciences, Medicine, Pharmacy, Caring sciences, Veterinary Sciences, Aquaculture, Molecular Biology, Microbiology.
• A high level of proficiency in written and spoken English as the working language of ReAct is English.
• Flexibility and capability to function independently and with periodically short deadlines.
• Curiosity and interest to work with a small global network with a large global impact.
• Desire to support the global initiatives to ensure equitable access to effective antibiotics.
Merit experiences/competencies
• Knowledge about antibiotic resistance, its causes and consequences, and different areas of relevance for sustainable mitigation.
• Experience of working in website builders and using referencing software, in particular WordPress and Zotero.
• Proficiency in additional foreign languages.
• Experience of working with global health, sustainable development, health care, veterinary sciences, behavioral sciences, policy, or advocacy.
• Experience from civil society or international organizations.
• International experience, especially from LMICs. This may include but is not limited to living, working or studying abroad, minor field studies or other relevant experience.
Other information
The ReAct network is coordinated by the ReAct Europe Office which is based at Uppsala University, and our main funder is Sida. We are a small international group of about 8 people working at the ReAct Europe office, however we have contact on a regular basis with the other approximately 20 ReAct colleagues based in Zambia, Kenya, India, Indonesia, Ecuador and Argentina. We generally meet at least 3 days a week at our cozy office located in the heart of Uppsala. We have a positive history hosting interns, where both the intern and ReAct have benefited from and enjoyed the experience. Previous ReAct interns have gone on to continue their careers with the fields of global health and sustainable development at organizations including the World Health Organization, International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS), Public Health England, IQVIA, and others. We look forward to welcoming an intern to our team!
As an intern at this organisation, you will work directly with the following Sustainable Development Goals:
