Antimicrobial Resistance Partnership Hub launched in China

Professor Lambert, Principal Investigator said:“This exciting new partnership provides an exceptional opportunity for researchers from the UK and China to collaborate on important new research that will help to save lives and alleviate the significant social and economic burden of antibiotic resistance in China.

To tackle this complex public health problem, we are bringing together experts from multiple disciplines across health, policy, environmental and social sciences and helping to enhance China’s capacity to carry out interdisciplinary research.”

Professor Zheng, Principal Investigator, said: “AMR is a serious challenge not only in China, but also for the entire humankind. China, with the largest population in the world, has recognised the impact of AMR on the health of people as well as the national economy for a long time. China has developed many policies in terms of rational use of antibiotics and confining AMR.

The UK as a developed country, is fully experienced in the research areas such as the impact of AMR on economy, rational use of antibiotics. I believe that under the strong support of Chinese government, with the help of UK colleagues, by joint contribution of the experts from two countries, our Program will definitely help us better understand the impact of AMR, explore a practical strategy to confine AMR, provide experience for other countries, and further benefit the humankind as a whole.”

It is expected that the Program will produce the first national estimates of the economic burden of AMR among certain diseases and a clearer understanding of the situation for one of the world’s largest consumers of antibiotics, providing essential information for China and the world on the impact of AMR, building upon the global picture of the challenge.

The Program is one of four UK-China Programs for AMR research awarded by the Newton Fund under a joint UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) funding initiative.