Sowa Uzamere
The Fleming Fund’s second phase of its anti-AMR campaign is underway thanks to the largest-ever commitment made by any nation in global AMR surveillance.
The announcement coincides with the Secretary of State’s first G20 Health Ministers conference in India.
The UK government has announced that up to £210 million in financing will support modern laboratories, cutting-edge disease surveillance systems, and a larger worldwide workforce to combat dangerous antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Over the next three years, the funding, which comes from the government’s budget for UK aid, will support the Fleming Fund’s initiatives to combat AMR in nations throughout Asia and Africa, assisting in lowering the threat it poses to the UK and the rest of the world.
With more than 250 laboratories slated to receive upgrades and cutting-edge technology, it will improve the surveillance capacity in up to 25 countries where the threat and impact of AMR is greatest, including Nigeria, Indonesia, Ghana, Kenya, and Papua New Guinea.
New genome sequencing technology is part of this investment, and it will aid in tracking the spread of bacteria among people, animals, and the environment.
By funding 20,000 training sessions for laboratory workers, pharmacists, and hospital staff as well as more than 200 Fleming Fund scholarships to advance knowledge in microbiology, AMR policy, and One Health—which acknowledges the interdependence of humans, animals, and the environment—the investment will also strengthen the global health workforce.
Steve Barclay, the secretary of state for health and social care, stated:
“Antimicrobial resistance is a silent killer that poses a serious threat to people’s health everywhere, including in the UK. This issue will be a key one at the G20 meeting in India.”It is crucial that it be stopped in its tracks, and this record amount of funds will enable the most vulnerable nations to combat it and stop it from claiming more lives throughout the globe, ultimately making our homes safer.
It also builds on the government’s efforts to encourage pharmaceutical companies to create new antibiotics, a concept that some G20 nations are hoping to adopt.Antimicrobial resistance, in which bacteria have changed so much that antibiotics and other conventional treatments are no longer effective against infections, causes around 1.27 million fatalities worldwide annually, with one in five of these deaths occurring in children under the age of five. Between 7,000 and 35,000 deaths were attributed to AMR in 2019 in the UK alone.
Dame Sally Davies, the UK’s special envoy for AMR, stated:
“I am glad and thrilled that the UK’s Fleming Fund will continue to make a significant contribution to the fight against AMR and the development of pandemic preparation on the ground around the globe, utilizing data to motivate action and catalyze investment.
To realize our vision of a world free of drug-resistant infections, “this world-leading investment in AMR laboratories, workforce, and systems is a vital contribution.”
The investment will result in the second phase of the relationship between the UK and Nigeria’s Fleming Fund.
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