Funding announced to tackle AMR

The government has announced up to £210 million of funding to partner with countries in Asia and Africa to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and reduce the threat posed to the UK.

The funding will be spent on laboratories, disease surveillance systems and a bigger global workforce.

The money will support the Fleming Fund’s activities to tackle AMR in countries across Asia and Africa over the next three years, helping to reduce the threat it poses to the UK and the rest of the world.

Secretary of state for health and social care Steve Barclay 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."

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay