Caption: From left: Mohamed Elsherbiny, Senior Technical Advisor, CARPHA; Marcelo Galas, PAHO Technical Officer on Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance, AMR Special Programme; Dr Lisa Indar, Executive Director, CARPHA; Dr Natalie Wright, Head of UK Overseas Territories Programme and CARA project lead at the UK Health Security Agency; Dr Rhonda Sealey-Thomas, Assistant Director; PAHO, Dr Pilar Ramon-Pardo, PAHO Chief Antimicrobial Resistance Special Programme; Dr Colin Brown, UKHSA Head of AMR; and Dr Gabriel Gonzalez Escobar, Head, CARPHA Medical Microbiology Laboratory.
By Alicia Chamely
THE United Kingdom’s Flemming Fund has successfully launched two initiatives aimed at combating Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in the Caribbean.
The launch took place on 5th May at the Hilton Barbados Resort, Bridgetown, where health leaders, development partners and stakeholders gathered with the goal to strengthen the Caribbean’s ability to combat the global crisis of AMR.
AMR occurs when microbes evolve to resist treatment, making infections harder to cure. In 2019, AMR caused 1.27 million deaths and contributed to 5 million more, surpassing HIV/AIDS and malaria. Caribbean islands and developing states are at high risk with limited lab infrastructure, transport delays and uneven access to antibiotics.
The initiatives launched were the project “Strengthening Antimicrobial Resistance Response in the Caribbean” and the Caribbean Antimicrobial Resistance Alliance (CARA).
Strengthening Antimicrobial Resistance Response in the Caribbean will be led by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and is designed to upgrade microbiology laboratories in ten countries. It will also enhance the capacity at the Best-dos-Santos Public Health Laboratory in Barbados.
CARA is a partnership programme between the United Kingdom’s Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and forms part of CARPHA’s wider Integrated AMR Programme. The project will support member states by expanding reference laboratory services in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and St Lucia. It will establish a digital, region-wide surveillance platform promoting regional coordination and best practice sharing, helping to align national efforts and policies to ensure timely, data-informed responses to AMR.
The Flemming Fund
The UK Department of Health and Social Care’s Flemming Fund is the world’s single largest investor in global AMR surveillance. The Fund partners with global organizations to establish and strengthen AMR surveillance systems and supports the generation of high quality AMR data to change policies and clinical practice.
