Up to £210 million of funding to partner with countries across Asia and Africa to tackle antimicrobial resistance and reduce the threat posed to the UK.
3rd G20 Health Working Group - Bali
British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Owen Jenkins visited the Anti-Microbial Resistance side event.
UK Fleming Fund programme supports Indonesia's efforts to stop the spread of drug resistance.
British Ambassador Owen Jenkins congratulated the Chair of the Anti-Microbial Resistance side event of the third G20 Health Working Group in Bali, 24th August, delivered with support from the Fleming Fund.
The G20 AMR side event is part of the health track of the G20 Presidency, working to achieve a Call to Action with concrete actions and to encourage the expansion of global surveillance of AMR and antimicrobial use through an integrated multi sectoral, One Health approach analysing data from clinical, animal and environmental sources.
G20 AMR side event. Credit: DAI Indonesia, Bali Seniman Photo.
The Fleming Fund supports up to 25 countries around the world to tackle drug resistance by boosting AMR and antimicrobial use surveillance capabilities. This includes improving laboratory capacity and data sharing; training and developing laboratory scientists; and establishing One Health coordinating mechanisms to sustain investment in AMR containment.
AMR is evolution in action. It occurs naturally and is selected for when microorganisms are exposed to antimicrobial drugs and adapt to survive the exposure. This can happen in humans, animals and the environment. Resistant microorganisms may then spread over time, becoming commonplace, meaning ordinary medicines are no longer effective. AMR affects all countries and resistance can spread across national borders and boundaries, collectively earning resistant infections the moniker "the silent pandemic".
Information board at the G20 AMR side event. Credit: DAI Indonesia, Bali Seniman Photo.
At the 3rd G20 Health Working Group event held in Bali on 24 August 2022, British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Owen Jenkins attended the side event where the UK government, through the Fleming Fund programme, showcased their work in tackling drug resistance by boosting AMR and antimicrobial use surveillance capabilities. This includes improving laboratory capacity and data sharing; training and developing laboratory scientists; and establishing One Health coordinating mechanisms to sustain investment in AMR containment.
Since 2019, the UK has partnered with the Government of Indonesia to stop the spread of drug resistance as part of its Fleming Fund grants programme. The Fleming Fund has supported 34 laboratories with a range of interventions including implementing diagnostics, training, lab renovation, equipment, consumables and reagents, and lab information systems. The Grant has also strengthened the government’s One Health AMR coordination system and established data management, with sharing mechanisms to disseminate surveillance data and impact decision-making.
British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste, Owen Jenkins, said:
“Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is already known to kill at least 1.2m people a year. The development of resistance can be contained by curbing inappropriate use of antimicrobials across sectors. We need to work together across sectors and countries to fight the spread of resistance through stronger surveillance, improved infection prevention and control, and better antimicrobial stewardship.
The G20 event is an important opportunity to strengthen the global collaboration and focus our efforts to control antimicrobial resistance and prevent massive loss of life. I am delighted that United Kingdom’s partnership with Indonesia has contributed to the success of today’s event through the Fleming Fund.
The UK values the G20 as a forum for global action and supports Indonesia in delivering a successful Presidency. The UK will use the G20 to deliver our shared objectives in dealing with current global health challenges and bolstering health security as we strengthen our collaborations with our G20 partners.”
Dame Sally Davies, UK Special Envoy on AMR, said:
“On 24th August 2022, I urged the G20 to demonstrate their leadership of the global AMR challenge. The G20 must be ambitious and focused, drawing on lessons from COVID-19, to prepare for all pandemics, including AMR.”
Tom Weaver, DAI Team Leader for the Country Grant in Indonesia, said:
“Stronger integrated One Health surveillance system for antimicrobial resistance and measured antibiotics use will result in better global data that inform responses and to help ensure existing antimicrobials remain effective.”
Fleming Fund Regional Coordinator for South Asia at Mott MacDonald, Vikas Aggarwal, said:
“The Fleming Fund Country Grants have contributed significantly to build a strong foundation of AMR surveillance in Indonesia and the wider South Asia region, through an encompassing One Health approach. This is helping to make progress towards improvements in nationwide AMR governance through stronger AMR surveillance and better inter-sectoral coordination across countries.”
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