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New Modelling Warns Aid Cuts Could Drive Antimicrobial Resistance to Crisis

Experts say canceling the Fleming Fund will create surveillance blind spots that accelerate the spread of drug-resistant infections.

Overview

  • Latest UK-funded modelling and IHME data project that unchecked antimicrobial resistance could cost the global economy up to $2 trn annually by 2050 and cause tens of millions of deaths.
  • The UK’s cancellation of the £265m Fleming Fund and steep US foreign aid reductions threaten to undermine surveillance networks across Africa and Asia.
  • Experts warn that without sustained funding and coordinated policy measures, resistance rates could shift in line with worst-case scenarios, driving up hospital admissions and treatment complexity.
  • Health systems face soaring costs, with global AMR treatment expenses expected to rise by $176bn a year and US and UK bills climbing to nearly $57bn and $3.7bn respectively.
  • International advocates are calling for restored aid budgets, accelerated development of new antibiotics and reinforced global monitoring to avert the escalating crisis.