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African Academy of Sciences and the South African Medical Research Council tackle antimicrobial resistance in Africa

African Academy of Sciences and the South African Medical Research Council tackle antimicrobial resistance in Africa

African Academy of Sciences and the South African Medical Research Council tackle antimicrobial resistance in Africa

Friday, March 29, 2019

29 March 2018 | Nairobi, Kenya & Cape Town, South Africa | The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) today announced an investment of $2 million to fund research into the scope of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Africa and develop relevant technologies and products in response.

AMR essentially renders some drugs ineffective and has contributed to 700,000 deaths globally each year. Although resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics has been witnessed in Africa, the full scope of the burden is not yet understood as 40% of African countries do not have sufficient data on AMR. 

“Antimicrobial resistance is a complex threat to global health that is likely to compound the high disease burden in Africa and therefore requires us to increase our understanding to be adaptive and responsive,” said AESA Director Prof Tom Kariuki.

The funding for projects is made in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and through the Grand Challenges Africa Innovation Grants, which were created to catalyse scientific breakthroughs and find local solutions to solve Africa’s pressing challenges. It represents a second call of proposals from the innovation grants administered by the Grand Challenges Africa, a scheme implemented through the AAS and the NEPAD Agency’s Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA).

“Understanding the scale of antimicrobial resistance informs our strategic response to counter the impact of AMR in the provision of present and future healthcare on the continent,” said Professor Glenda Gray, President & CEO of the SAMRC. “It’s important that whilst we embark on research to understand the extent of the AMR burden we also invest in the development of new drugs,” added Professor Gray.

Seed grants to the value of $100,000 and full grants to the value of $250,000 will be awarded to researchers who reside in Africa, are associated with any reputable institution and will embark on projects that will research new approaches to characterise the global burden of antimicrobial resistance.Read more ..