Grants awarded to four UK universities to support research into global incidences of AMR

Grants totalling £12 million have been awarded to four UK universities in support of interdisciplinary research into the biological, social, cultural and economic drivers behind the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in low and middle-income countries.

These grants — AMR in a Global Context Consortia awards — have been jointly funded by the cross-research council AMR initiative and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Global Health Research Programme.

The four universities, winning grants are the University of Bristol, the University of St Andrews, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the University of Glasgow. The awards will be spread over a three-year period and will bring together UK groups with researchers and policy makers in partner countries.

Using a range of research approaches, from clinical and microbiological to geography, modelling and social sciences, the consortia will identify, prioritise and understand the specific problem of antibacterial resistance (ABR) across different communities and environments in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi and Thailand.

Additionally, the consortia will operate in contrasting areas of high and low resistance including urban, semi-urban and rural settings, allowing a unique comparison of geographical, economic and social contexts, to better inform future interventions to prevent the spread of infections and resistance.

These projects will contribute to the UK’s commitment to Official Development Assistance (ODA). The research councils’ contribution will be made through the Global Challenges Research Fund, which supports cutting-edge research addressing the problems faced by developing countries. The contribution from the NIHR will be made through its Global Health Research ODA allocation — aimed at supporting internationally outstanding applied research for the direct and primary benefit of patients and the public in LMICs.

“Antimicrobial resistance is a complex and fast evolving issue for healthcare and agriculture worldwide,” said Dr Jonathan Pearce, head of Infections and Immunity at the MRC. “It’s a problem that cannot be dealt with by one country acting alone, so these kinds of international, collaborative research projects are absolutely crucial to developing our understanding and finding solutions.

“There are worrying gaps in our understanding of the spread and transmission of drug resistant infections, the factors driving such resistance, and how these factors are influenced by, and interact with, different environments. The challenge is exacerbated by rapidly increasing urbanisation, poverty and inequalities, conflict and fragility, changing patterns of food production and expanding globalisation, which means data and insight is missing from the countries and communities who need it most.

"It is predicted that AMR will kill more people than cancer by 2050 worldwide opens in new window if we do not come together to find a solution. We must act before it is too late.”

“AMR is a multidimensional global health issue which has the potential of creating a disproportionate health and economic burden on low and middle-income countries (LMICs),” added Professor Chris Whitty, chief scientific adviser, Department of Health and Social Care. “The NIHR, working in partnership with the cross-research council AMR initiative, is pleased to be supporting four multidisciplinary consortia to identify the factors driving microbial resistance in LMICs and contribute to the development of context-specific interventions to tackle this global health challenge.”