Tackling antibiotics resistance in low income countries
New partners will help manage improvements to preventing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in low and middle income countries.
Following the UN General Assembly AMR meeting last month, we are announcing new delivery partners for the Fleming Fund and a range of early investment projects in Asia and Africa.
The Fleming Fund represents a £265 million government investment into improving laboratory capacity for diagnosis and surveillance of AMR in low-income countries where AMR has a disproportionate impact.
Mott MacDonald, a global leader in international development, after a competitive process, has been chosen to manage the fund’s country and regional projects as well as the Fleming Fellowship Scheme. Following existing early investment in Vietnam, the Fleming Fund will expand into 4 further countries. Both the Fleming Fund and Fellowship Scheme will support work in eligible countries across sub-Saharan Africa, south and south-east Asia.
Public Health Minister, Nicola Blackwood, said:
AMR is a global problem. We need all countries to collect reliable data on resistance and antibiotics use so we can confront the true scale of the issue.
The Fleming Fund will play a major role in supporting countries across the world to build up their capacity for AMR surveillance, and the appointment of our key delivery partners represents a critical juncture in this work.
We have also commissioned independent evaluation to run in parallel with the Fund’s country and regional projects, supporting design for monitoring and evaluation right from the start. Itad, who work to make international development as effective as possible, has been selected to manage this evaluation and support continuous learning and improvement throughout the project.
Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said:
Antimicrobial resistance has the potential to kill millions each year and become a massive burden on health systems across the world. By 2050, if left unchecked, drug-resistant infections will kill 10 million people a year and cost the worldwide economy $100 trillion.
To combat this problem, we first need to understand it—and the Fleming Fund is a crucial step in creating a clearer global picture.
Having accurate information will make sure the right resources are deployed at the right time, in the right place, to make the maximum impact.
With lessons from early investment partner countries, the Fleming Fund expects to release the initial call for grant funding focus countries by spring/summer 2017. Funding will be rolled out in waves, with multiple opportunities to apply per year, allowing a phased roll-out of the programme across countries. We will consult experts around the world throughout the development and management of the programme.