Antimicrobial Resistance Research Hub - Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Supply and delivery of antimicrobials in smallholder livestock productions system in Uganda

Ekta Patel — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 06:11:18 +0000

Written by Ekta Patel

Access to quality veterinary drugs is a significant challenge for smallholder livestock keepers in low- and middle-income countries. Moreover, livestock producers who have access to over-the-counter animal drugs, including antimicrobials, often misuse them in food producing animals, which can produce drug residues in food products such as milk, meat and eggs, and pose a health risk to consumers. This among other reasons has led to growing risks of antimicrobial resistance in the public health sectors of these countries.

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the world’s most rapidly emerging health threats and data suggest that it will be the number one cause of death by 2050. Antibiotics play a pivotal role in animal agriculture and have been used as prophylactics (used when animals are stressed in the treatment of illness) or as therapeutics (to manage the health and welfare of sick animals). They have also been used to improve growth and productivity by giving animals antibiotics through feed or water.

In Uganda, the private sector has greatly contributed to the delivery of animal health services, which are regulated by the government. However, the lack of budgetary resources has hindered the implementation of regulations and policies that govern the delivery of veterinary drugs.

Scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Makerere University, and Institute of Virology and Immunology have assessed the use of antimicrobials in smallholder livestock systems in Uganda. Their findings, which are published in the Journal of Frontiers in Veterinary Science show that antibiotics and anti-helminthics are readily available over-the-counter to livestock keepers in the country and antibiotics sales contribute a third of the profit for veterinary drug stockists.

The researchers evaluated Uganda’s veterinary drug supply chain, constraints faced by actors, assess knowledge, practices, and awareness of veterinary drug suppliers on drug use and management in Lira and Mukono in the northern and central region of the country, respectively. They documented the constraints faced by the actors of the drug supply chain, which include lack of knowledge on veterinary drug policies of the country, low level of education especially drug retailers, poor handling of drugs at purchase and administration.

Potential drivers of misuse of antibiotics in the country include low level of education of actors who deal with drugs such as drug retailers and veterinary practitioners, poor handling of drugs at purchase, and self-medication by livestock farmers resulting in inadequate treatments regimens to livestock. Low enforcement of policy and regulations and lack of awareness of stakeholders about policies that regulate use of drugs were also listed as contributing to misuse of drugs such as antibiotics.

The authors advocate future interventions to reduce misuse of drugs in small-scale livestock production systems should target capacity building and improvement of the business of veterinary drug input suppliers and strong policy advocacy.

For more information read the full article here

Learn more about antimicrobial resistance through the CGIAR AMR Hub

Photo credit: AVCD health services project, Syat Onle, operations manager at his agrvet shop in Garissa town, Kenya (ILRI/Dhanji).

CGIAR research program:

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Livestock

CGIAR AMR Hub strengthens partnerships and research to reduce agriculture-associated antimicrobial resistance in low- and middle-income countries

Ekta Patel — Sat, 21 Nov 2020 19:53:28 +0000

CGIAR AMR Hub launch event in Febraury 2019 (photo credit: ILRI/Paul Karaimu)

Written by Ekta Patel

The CGIAR Antimicrobial Resistance Hub, which is hosted and led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is working the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), World Fish and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) to address agricultural-associated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The research is largely supported by the CGIAR Research Program (CPR) on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) as well as Livestock and Fish CRPs.

AMR has been described as a silent pandemic that affects everyone. But its burden is disproportionately higher in LMICs due to the many challenges people face in these countries such as lack of access to healthcare, clean water, sanitation, and higher disease burden. Several LMICs have developed national action plans to address AMR but their implementation remains a challenge because of lack of resources and the absence of a comprehensive multisectoral approach, which is needed to reduce the burden of AMR in both humans and animals.

‘The CGIAR AMR Hub is a unique platform as it works with various strategic partners who have expertise in many different areas,’ says Arshnee Moodley, team lead of the CGIAR AMR Hub. ‘For example, ILRI’s entry point in tackling AMR is through livestock and associated environmental systems, whereas World Fish’s focus is on aquaculture in LMICs. IWMI’s expertise is well suited to address AMR in irrigated and or wastewater systems.’ Moodley adds that a global collaborative effort is needed to address the multifaceted factors that contribute to the development of AMR.’

John McDermott, A4NH program director, notes that AMR is an urgent and complex issue and its mitigation requires cross-sector cooperation. ‘Integrated agriculture and health actions are critical in addressing the problem and the CGIAR is well placed to contribute,’ he says.

At ILRI, several AMR research activities are underway. These include investigating drivers for antimicrobial use among livestock farmers, assessing transmission of AMR at human-animal interfaces, and carrying out interventions to reduce antimicrobial by using non-antibiotic alternatives such as phage therapy to control bacterial populations in poultry farms in Kenya.

Earlier this year, despite the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, ILRI, under the CGIAR AMR Hub, was selected by the Fleming Fund to lead AMR projects across the globe. For example, in Zambia and Bangladesh, Fleming Fund fellows, who have been paired with scientists from ILRI and World Fish, are developing and improving their skills in AMR and antimicrobial use diagnostics and surveillance. While these projects are currently run virtually with online meetings and training sessions, the teams expect to commence robust activities in 2021.

World Fish has been working on addressing AMR in Bangladesh’s aquaculture. In Asia and many other parts of the world, aquaculture is a major food producing industry with high levels of antimicrobials use, posing a risk for AMR selection and dissemination. Led by the University of Exeter, World Fish is supporting campaigns to raise awareness of AMR in rural aquaculture practices in Bangladesh through digital communications.

Elsewhere, the ReWater MENA project, which is led by IWMI, is expanding the safe reuse of water in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with specific activities in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. In Jordan, supported by the Royal Scientific Society, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation is collecting baseline data and analysing the long-term risks of reusing treated wastewater in the north Jordan Valley with a specific emphasis on antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotic residues in agricultural chains.

Javier Mateo-Sagasta, senior scientist at IWMI and project leader of the ReWater MENA project anticipates ‘the data from this study will provide a platform to understand risks associated with reusing treated wastewater in other countries and potentially provide information on transmission of resistant genes in other LMICs with similar irrigated systems.’ He says IWMI is also working to understand better the sources, transport and fate of antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes in aquatic environments. ‘We want to identify research priorities for modelling and system analysis, with the longer-term goal of developing a modelling framework to assess risks (to human, aquaculture, livestock, agriculture and ecosystem health) and test “what if” scenarios to support decision-making.’

At IFPRI, Devesh Roy, a senior researcher at A4NH, is conducting a macro-level analysis in India to understand the availability of veterinary-specific antibiotics using trade and industrial data, in partnership with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Simultaneously, a sister project led by ILRI is assessing antibiotic use at the farm level in the country.

The World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW), which is commemorated annually between 18-24 November 2020, aims to increase awareness of AMR and encourage best practices among all sectors including the general public to reduce irrational antimicrobial use and halt the further emergence of antimicrobial-resistant infections.

Learn more about the CGIAR AMR Hub projects

CGIAR research program:

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Fish

Livestock

Knowledge and practices related to antibiotics among poultry producers and veterinarians in two Indian states

Tezira Lore — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 06:37:24 +0000

Antibiotics are frequently utilized in livestock, particularly poultry, for therapy and growth promotion, resulting in antimicrobial resistance. Multidrug-resistant bacteria are frequent in poultry samples from India. The purpose of this study was to better understand main antibiotic consumption patterns in poultry value chains, as well as antibiotic knowledge and practices among the stakeholders.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Assam and Karnataka, India. The poultry farmers were interviewed on antibiotic usage, antibiotic knowledge, feeding practices, and preventive measures on the farm. Poultry farmers reported their veterinarians, and we also interviewed them on knowledge and practices related to antimicrobial use in poultry and antimicrobial resistance. Item response theory (IRT) was used to assess the association between the answers and demographic factors.

This survey interviewed 62 poultry farmers and 11 veterinarians. Small poultry farms with fewer than 4000 birds were owned by 51.6% of farmers. Most poultry farmers had heard about antibiotics, and 62.9% thought they cured all diseases. If one chicken is sick, 72.6% said others should be given antibiotics to prevent the disease. All veterinarians utilized tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, and cephalexin on the poultry farms. Over half (54.5%) stated antibiotics prevent diseases, and 72.7% said they treat and prevent diseases. Some (45.5%) said antibiotics boost growth. IRT analysis showed that 8 questions assessed a knowledge scale well. Univariable analysis showed that Assam farmers and women were likely to have have more knowledge.

The poultry farmers were mostly unaware of the relation between antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance. Despite being aware, the veterinarians agreed with use antibiotics as a prophylactic measure. It is vital that these stakeholders understand the repercussions of such widespread antibiotic use. In order to increase knowledge, frequent trainings and antimicrobial stewardship programmes with effective communication and incentives for behaviour change should be conducted.

Citation
Sharma, G., Dey, T., Hazarika, R.A., Shome, B.R., Shome, R., Singh, V.P., Deka, R.P., Grace, D. and Lindahl, J.F. 2024. Knowledge and practices related to antibiotics among poultry producers and veterinarians in two Indian states. One Health 18: 100700.

Photo: Chickens at the Ganeshguru livestock market, Guhawati, India (ILRI/Stevie Mann)

CGIAR research program:

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Study investigates prevalence of β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in cow and buffalo milk in India

Tezira Lore — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 07:06:05 +0000

The consumption of milk contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses a significant public health threat.

A new study published in Antibiotics (Sept 2023) has evaluated the prevalence of β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in cow and buffalo milk from the states of Haryana and Assam in India.

A total of 401 milk samples were collected from dairy farmers and vendors. Microbiological assays, antibiotic susceptibility testing, and polymerase chain reaction–based genotyping were employed to analyze 421 Gram-negative bacterial isolates.

The overall prevalence of β-lactamase genes was 10%, with higher rates in Haryana (13%) compared to Assam (7%).

The identified β-lactamase genes in isolates were blaCMY, blaMOX, blaFOX, blaEBC, and blaDHA, associated with AmpC production, while blaCTX-M1, blaSHV, and blaTEM were detected as ESBL producers, while blaVIM, blaIMP, blaSPM, blaSIM, and blaGIM were identified as MBL producers.

Notably, Shigella spp. were the dominant β-lactamase producers among identified Enterobacteriaceae.

This study highlights the presence of various prevalent β-lactamase genes in milk isolates, indicating the potential risk of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in dairy products.

The presence of β-lactam resistance raises concern as this could restrict antibiotic options for treatment.

The discordance between genotypic and phenotypic methods emphasizes the necessity for comprehensive approaches that integrate both techniques to accurately assess antibiotic resistance.

Urgent collaborative action incorporating rational and regulated use of antibiotics across the dairy value chain is required to address the global challenge of β-lactam resistance.

Citation

Dey, T.K., Lindahl, J.F., Lundkvist, Å., Grace, D., Deka, R.P., Shome, R., Bandyopadhyay, S., Goyal, N.K., Sharma, G. and Shome, B.R. 2023. Analyses of extended-spectrum-β-lactamase, metallo-β-lactamase, and AmpC-β-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae from the dairy value chain in India. Antibiotics 12(9): 1449.

CGIAR research program:

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Experts call for One Health approach to study bacterial hazards and antimicrobial risks in marketed food in Bangladesh

Tezira Lore — Sat, 25 Mar 2023 07:55:58 +0000

Antimicrobial resistance is a public health problem worldwide. Bangladesh, like its neighbouring countries, faces many public health challenges, including access to safe food, inadequate food surveillance, as well as increasing antimicrobial resistance.

A new study published in Antibiotics (Mar 2023) investigated bacterial contamination and the antimicrobial resistance profile of pathogens in marketed food in Bangladesh. The study also explored barriers to reducing antimicrobial resistance in the country.

The study was carried out by researchers affiliated to the Bangladesh Agricultural University, the Bangladesh Department of Livestock Services, the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, the International Livestock Research Institute, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala University and the University of Greenwich.

The researchers collected 366 tomatoes, 359 chicken and 249 fish samples from 732 vendors in traditional markets in urban, peri-urban and rural areas in Bangladesh, as well as from 121 modern retails in Dhaka capital to analyse Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli in fish, Salmonella in chicken, and Salmonella and E. coli in tomatoes.

Antibiotic susceptibility against 11 antibiotics was tested using a disc diffusion test and interpreted by an automated zone inhibition reader.

A qualitative study using key informant interviews was also conducted to explore antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance reduction potential in Bangladesh.

They found E. coli in 14.21% of tomatoes and 26.91% of fish samples, while 7.38% of tomatoes and 17.27% of chicken were positive for Salmonella, and 44.98% of fish were positive for Vibrio cholerae.

About 70% of all isolated pathogens were multidrug resistant, that is, they were resistant to three or more antibiotic groups.

Qualitative interviews revealed an inadequate surveillance system for antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance in Bangladesh, especially in the agriculture sector.

To be able to fully understand the human health risks from bacterial hazards in the food and the antimicrobial resistance situation in Bangladesh, the authors of the study propose that a nationwide study with a One Health approach be conducted, including antimicrobial resistance testing and assessment of antimicrobial use and its drivers.

The study was supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health, the CGIAR Initiative on Resilient Cities and the CGIAR Initiative on One Health.

Citation
Samad, M.A., Eberson, L., Begum, R., Alam, M.G.S., Talukdar, F., Akter, R., Sinh Dang-Xuan, Sharma, G., Islam, S., Siddiky, N.A., Uddin, A.S.M.A., Mahmud, M.A., Sarker, M.S., Rahman, M.S., Grace, D. and Lindahl, J.F. 2023. Microbial contamination and antibiotic resistance in marketed food in Bangladesh: Current situation and possible improvements. Antibiotics 12(3): 555.

Photo credit: Biponibag fish market (Kingkar Shaha, ECOFISH II/WorldFish)

Blog post by Tezira Lore originally posted on AgHealth

CGIAR research program:

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

One Health WASH: an AMR-smart integrative approach to preventing and controlling infection in farming communities

Tezira Lore — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 08:37:11 +0000

While the One Health framework is now widely accepted as a strength in understanding antimicrobial resistance, its application in intervention design to prevent and control drug-resistant infections across humans, animals, and the environment remains weak. The potential for infection prevention and control measures to contribute to the antimicrobial resistance agenda is recognised in rhetoric, but evidence to guide action is patchy and uncoordinated.

While water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and on-farm biosecurity interventions are key strategies for preventing and controlling infections, they are frequently implemented separately for humans and animals. A new article published in BMJ Global Health (Mar 2023) argues for integration across these sectors to improve planning for antimicrobial resistance control.

The authors suggest several pathways to illustrate WASH and biosecurity overlaps and their potential to impact antimicrobial resistance directly or indirectly in the human-animal-environmental interface.

They propose integrating these two fields for the prevention and control of infections and antimicrobial resistance, which will improve not only human but also animal and environmental health, leveraging the synergies and differences of these two traditionally separated fields, and recognising their potential to complement each other when addressing health issues in the One Health triad.

Citation
Jimenez, C.E.P., Keestra, S.M., Tandon, P., Pickering, A.J., Moodley, A., Cumming, O. and Chandler, C.I.R. 2023. One Health WASH: an AMR-smart integrative approach to preventing and controlling infection in farming communities. BMJ Global Health 8(3): e011263.

CGIAR research program:

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Antibiotic use, knowledge, and practices of milk vendors in India's informal dairy value chain

Tezira Lore — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 09:00:00 +0000

Milk vendors play an important role in India's dairy value chain; however, their food safety practices are poorly understood. From a milk safety perspective, vendor behaviour is significant because it has the potential to affect both consumer and producer behaviour. This study describes the types of milk vendors in two Indian states, in an attempt to investigate vendors' hygienic knowledge and practices toward safety and antimicrobial resistance.

A cross-sectional study was conducted in the states of Assam and Haryana, India. In selected villages, all the milk vendors identified at the time of visit were interviewed. A questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge and practices on antibiotics, milk safety and hygiene. The milk samples were tested for presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria using antibiotic susceptibility testing.

In total, 244 milk vendors were interviewed during the survey. Out of these, 146 (59.8%) of the vendors traded raw milk, while 40.2% traded pasteurized milk. Vendors were categorized depending on whom they supplied milk to. Five categories were identified:

Those who sold at grocery shops.
Those who sold on roadside (roadside vendors).
Those who sold from door to door.
Those who sold to sweet makers/tea stalls.
Those who sold from own home/other entity.

The level of training among vendors on milk hygiene was non-existent and the knowledge related to antibiotics was low. Most of them (86.07%) agreed that boiled milk is always safer than raw milk but almost half (48.77%) of them admitted that sometimes they drink milk without boiling it.

Most vendors believed that they could identify whether milk is safe or not for consumption just by its appearance and smell. Out of 124 milk samples collected from surveyed milk vendors and tested for the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, 80 (64.52%) tested positive.

In conclusion, this study highlights the low levels of knowledge regarding food safety among milk vendors. It shows the predominance of informal milk vendors in the surveyed states and prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in milk traded by them. Training may be a beneficial strategy for addressing the issue.

Citation
Sharma, G., Leahy, E., Deka, R.P., Shome, B.R., Bandyopadhyay, S., Dey, T.K., Goyal, N.K., Lundkvist, Å., Grace, D. and Lindahl, J.F. 2022. Antibiotic use, knowledge, and practices of milk vendors in India's informal dairy value chain. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 6: 1058384.

CGIAR research program:

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

New study explores cognitive interviewing as a tool to pretest survey questions in limited resource settings

Tezira Lore — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 06:40:34 +0000

Antimicrobial resistance is a complex topic requiring interdisciplinary solutions embedded in One Health thinking. Currently, many surveys are underway in low- and middle-income countries to study how antimicrobial use in the livestock sector is driving resistance. In a survey, the respondents must understand and answer the questions correctly to produce accurate and valuable results.

Pretesting survey questions is therefore important but sometimes not performed due to limited time and resources. Cognitive interviewing is a pretesting method to give insights into the respondent's way of interpreting and mentally processing the survey questions to identify problems and finding ways to improve the questions.

It has previously been suggested that cognitive interviews may be difficult to use in some cultural settings.

A new study, published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science (Jul 2022), aimed to use cognitive interviews in a respondent-adjusted way to study how survey questions related to antimicrobial use are understood and answered by 12 small-scale farmers in Kenya and Uganda.

The results show that even a small number of interviews and using interviewers with limited knowledge of cognitive interviewing can identify many problems in survey questions and the survey tool. Cognitive interviews may provide a feasible and affordable way of pretesting questionnaires in situations where time and resources are limited, for example, during a disease outbreak.

Citation

Wenemark, M., Ngwili, N., Ndoboli, D., Wieland, B. and Roesel, K. 2022. “How are my age and cows related?” Cognitive interviewing as a tool to pretest survey questions in two limited resource settings. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9: 833748.

CGIAR research program:

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Livestock

Comparing the effectiveness of different approaches to raise awareness about antimicrobial resistance in farmers and veterinarians of India

Tezira Lore — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 05:38:31 +0000

For effective awareness raising on prudent use of antimicrobials, dairy farmers need regular education and veterinary experts need tools and strategies to educate farmers on prudent use of antimicrobials, a new research study says.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health threat and the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in the animal health sector contributes to increasing rates of AMR. In India, studies involving dairy farmers have found knowledge levels regarding antibiotics and AMR to be very low.

The study, published in Frontiers in Public Health, was conducted in September to December of 2018 in some parts of Haryana, Assam, Karnataka, and West Bengal to assess different methods to raise awareness and knowledge about AMR and antibiotic use among dairy farmers, veterinarians and veterinary assistants (paraveterinarians).

The study had two parts: an intervention meeting (September–October 2018) which consisted of focus group discussions (FGD) with farmers, key informant interviews (KII) with veterinary professionals along with distribution of information packages, and then a follow-up survey (November–December 2018). The villages were randomly allocated to either one of the four intervention approaches (1-FGD/KII and information package on AMR; 2-FGD/KI and information on animal health; 3- FGD/KII and information package on animal health plus information on AMR; or 4- only the FGD/KII). A follow-up survey was done to assess the effect of interventions.

A total of 274 dairy farmers and 51 veterinary professionals (21 veterinarians and 30 paravets) participated in the follow-up survey. Many of the farmers and veterinary professionals who participated in the follow-up survey had been part of the intervention meetings. The average knowledge score of farmers was 7.8. It was found that the knowledge score was higher amongst farmers who had participated in the intervention meetings, had received intervention approach 2 or approach 3 , and amongst female farmers compared to male. The veterinary professionals had good knowledge but lacked interest in training the farmers about antimicrobial resistance.

The study showed that a higher percentage of farmers and veterinary professionals who attended the intervention meeting had improved knowledge.

Citation

Sharma, G., Mutua, F., Deka, R.P., Shome, R., Bandyopadhyay, S., Shome, B.R., Kumar, N.G., Grace, D., Dey, T.K. and Lindahl, J. 2022. Comparing the effectiveness of different approaches to raise awareness about antimicrobial resistance in farmers and veterinarians of India. Frontiers in Public Health 10: 837594.

CGIAR research program:

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

ILRI and ICARS sign a collaborative agreement to address antimicrobial resistance in low-and middle-income countries

Ekta Patel — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 07:31:19 +0000

Written by Ekta Patel

International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS) have signed a memorandum of collaboration to strengthen activities to address antimicrobial resistance in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Antimicrobials, especially antibiotics, are at the cornerstone of modern health systems and are used to treat and prevent bacterial infections in humans, animals and plants. The effectiveness of these medications is threatened through the rise and spread of drug-resistant microorganisms in humans. These resistant bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa and parasites are no longer affected by drugs that once killed them or stopped their multiplication. This is known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

ICARS, a Danish-initiated international organisation, has a mission to support LMICs in their efforts to reduce drug-resistant infections by closing the gap between policy and practice through a holistic, cross-sectorial approach. ICARS provides expertise and support to governments in LMICs and co-creates and co-develops context-specific solutions for AMR.

The CGIAR AMR Hub, led and hosted by ILRI and established in 2019, applies a One Health approach to support governments in LMICs to control agriculture-associated AMR risks, by promoting and facilitating transdisciplinary research and partnerships. Including ILRI, the CGIAR AMR Hub currently works with other CGIAR centres including World Fish, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Other key partners include the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The Hub has been supported by the CGIAR research programs on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health, Livestock, and Fish, and continues to work with national partners in many countries where activities have been implemented.

Through this collaboration at the CGIAR AMR Hub, ICARS will build the training capacity of LMIC partners in antimicrobial susceptibility testing. It will establish a state-of-the art centre of excellence for testing, and co-develop capacity for research through exchange programmes at ILRI.

Jimmy Smith, ILRI’s director general has been appointed to the board on behalf of the government of Denmark. ‘I am really pleased to see the partnership between ILRI-led CGIAR AMR Hub and ICARS come to fruition through the recently signed memorandum,’ he states.

‘AMR is a major One Health challenge that could threaten millions of lives and livelihoods worldwide and this unique partnership will contribute to preventing the threat of AMR through capacity development and solutions tailored to LMICs.'

Robert Skov, scientific director at ICARS, says, ‘I am thrilled about the collaboration with ILRI both on AMR mitigation in general and not the least the establishment of the centre of excellence on AST. The centre will be an important contribution to better AST in Sub-Saharan Africa – offering both capacity training, expansion on drug-bug MIC and disk diffusion data and evaluation of methods in collaboration with the EUCAST development laboratory’.

Learn more about CGIAR AMR Hub

Photo credit: Boy feeding cow in Ethiopia's tigray region (ILRI/Apollo Habtamu)

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Agriculture for Nutrition and Health