The British Government has announced the provision of £210 million in funding to tackle deadly antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Asia and Africa which pose threats to the United Kingdom and globally.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Steve Barclay who made the announcement in a statement on Wednesday said, funding – from the government’s UK aid budget – will support the Fleming Fund’s activities to tackle AMR in countries across Asia and Africa over the next three years.
With the State-of-the-art laboratories, cutting-edge disease surveillance systems which will bolster the surveillance capacity in up to 25 countries where the threat and burden of AMR is highest – including Indonesia, Ghana, Kenya, and Papua New Guinea.
Setting up more 250 laboratories for upgrad and provided with state- of-the-art equipment, adding that this investment includes new genome sequencing technology which 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 scholarships to boost expertise in microbiology, AMR policy and One Health which recognises connection between humans, animals and the environment.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care said, “Antimicrobial resistance is a silent killer which poses a significant threat to people’s health around the world and in the UK, and will be an important topic here at the G20 in India.
“It’s vital it is stopped in its tracks and this record funding will allow countries most at risk to tackle it and prevent it from taking more lives across the world, ultimately making us safer at home.
“It also builds on work the government is doing to incentivise drug companies to develop new antibiotics – a model which some G20 countries are looking to implement
Also, UK Special Envoy on AMR Dame Sally Davies said he is proud and delighted that the UK’s Fleming Fund will continue to create real impact to tackle AMR and build pandemic preparedness on the ground across the world, using data to drive action and catalyse investment.
“This world-leading investment in AMR laboratories, workforce and systems is a vital contribution to realise our vision of a world free of drug-resistant infection”, the UK Special envoy added.
Report has it that around 1.27 million people across the world die each year due to AMR where bacteria have evolved so much that antibiotics and other current treatments are no longer effective against infections.
Adding that with one in five of these deaths are children under five, stating further that in 2019, AMR was found to have caused between 7,000 and 35,000 deaths in the United Kingdom alone.