The 21st century has seen an upsurge in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and infectious diseases, which are complex in their origins and how they play out worldwide.
A better understanding of AMR, including who it affects, when and why, is essential if people and governments are to be best prepared for it.
Researchers at IDS have long been at the forefront of contributing new evidence, analysis and knowledge brokering related to the social, political, economic and cultural aspects of these health issues.
Applying their work to the challenge of these complex health threats has increasingly meant working with new partners and in new ways.
New drug discovery to combat antimicrobial resistance
Antimicrobial resistance is what happens when microorganisms that cause disease, such as bacteria, become resistant to the drugs used to kill them or prevent their growth.
It has its roots in the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials, such as antibiotics, in human and animal health.
However, the drivers and dynamics are complex, making this a difficult challenge to address. A world without antibiotics is hard to think about, and the World Health Organization has named AMR among the top 10 global health threats.
Close to five million deaths in 2019 were associated with AMR, and it is forecast that from 2025 to 2050, there will be more than 39 million deaths directly attributable to it, with 169 million deaths associated with it.
AMR has a grave impact on human health and has serious implications for animal and environmental health.
Together, these pose associated risks to food security, food safety, environmental well-being, and social and economic development—all with serious equity consequences.
The challenge is to find ways to stem the development and spread of AMR and its inequitable impacts, find new ways to replace the antimicrobial drugs healthcare has long relied on, and ensure they are available to all.
Researchers at IDS are doing this in many ways – from exploring the socioeconomic barriers to safer livestock practices to supporting policy work to promote investment in antibiotic drug discovery and ensure equitable distribution of drug innovations and health care to finding ways to work with communities confronting antimicrobial resistance.
One Health: Seeking solutions to complex health challenges
Much of this work has been undertaken in One Health projects. One Health is an approach that understands the links between human, animal, environmental, and ecosystem health.
Therefore, it seeks collaborative, interdisciplinary, and integrated solutions to complex health challenges such as AMR.
IDS’ AMR research partners with local, national and regional policy and decision-makers, civil society organisations and researchers from other disciplines, including veterinarians, microbiologists, public health experts, mathematical modellers and more.
IDS researchers have also been at the forefront of developing One Health thinking, including methodological work, to better understand the challenges such collaborative working presents in practice and further action.
