APA-Dakar (Senegal) The UK is to provide the largest ever funding for global surveillance of antimicrobial resistance.
London will launch the second phase of the Fleming Fund to combat antimicrobial resistance.
State-of-the-art laboratories, cutting-edge disease surveillance systems and a larger global workforce to combat deadly antimicrobial resistance (AMR) will be supported by funding of up to £210 million, the UK government announced on Wednesday.
In a statement seen by APA, the government said the funding, from the UK aid budget, will support the Fleming Fund’s activities to tackle antimicrobial resistance in Asian and African countries over the next three years, helping to reduce the threat it poses to Britain and the world.
The planned funding could cover up to 25 countries where the threat and burden of antimicrobial resistance is highest (including Indonesia, Ghana, Kenya and Papua New Guinea), with more than 250 laboratories to be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment.
The investment includes new genome sequencing technology that will help track bacterial transmission between humans, animals and the environment.
The investment will also strengthen the international health workforce by supporting 20,000 training sessions for laboratory staff, pharmacists and hospital staff, and over 200 Fleming Fund fellowships to strengthen expertise in microbiology, AMR policy and One Health – which recognizes the link between humans, animals and the environment.
UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, said: “Antimicrobial resistance is a silent killer that poses a significant threat to the health of people around the world and in the UK. It is vital that it is stopped in its tracks and this record funding will enable countries most at risk to tackle it and prevent it from claiming more victims around the world, ultimately making us safer at home. It also builds on the work the government is doing to encourage pharmaceutical companies to develop new antibiotics.”
He said he was “proud and delighted that the UK Fleming Fund continues to make a real difference to tackling antimicrobial resistance and strengthening pandemic preparedness on the ground around the world, using data to drive action and catalyze investment.”
TE/ac/lb/as/APA