One Health Poultry Hub investigators are comparing the situations, experiences, and motivations that affect antibiotic use in people and animals in Asia and Africa in a GCRF collaboration aimed at tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The project, Antibiotic stewardship in agricultural communities in Africa and Asia: A unified One Health strategy to optimise antibiotic use in animals and humans (AgriAMR), is aggregating knowledge about antimicrobial stewardships generated in six previous GCRF projects . It is focusing on antibiotics bought from drug shops and informal providers in rural areas where there is limited access to healthcare.

Countries in the study include Bangladesh, Colombia, India, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

AMR is one of the biggest threats to global health and AgriAMR joins CE4AMR: The One Health Approach and a GCRF-STARS training programme as one of three Poultry Hub collaborations considering different aspects of it.

Hub co-investigators involved are Hub Director Professor Fiona Tomley and Dr Ana Luisa Pereira Mateus and Dr Pablo Alarcon Lopez, all of the Royal Veterinary College.

Through workshops, discussions, and online events, AgriAMR partners are meeting regularly to develop ideas to further understand the issues surrounding appropriate use of antibiotics. They are also considering the influence of interactions between private providers, government health workers and public officials, to better understand how health systems in low-income countries can raise private-provider care quality and improve treatment practices.

AgriAMR is led by Professor Sian Clarke and Dr Meenakshi Gautham, both of Hub partner the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It is funded by the GCRF as part of the UKRI collective fund.