Maximising analytical and translational capability for social science data on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in East Africa

GCRF Funding Cycle
2019-20

Principal Investigators
Katherine Keenan, Mike Kesby

Schools
Geography & Sustainable Development

ODA countries
Uganda, Tanzania

Sustainable Development Goals
Goal 3, Goal 17

This capacity building project brought together over 40 scientists from East Africa and Scotland for the first time to train in a range of qualitative, quantitative and geospatial methods which can be applied to tackle the global health threat of antimicrobial resistance. The project was uniquely interdisciplinary and included specialists from a range of biomedical and social science disciplines.

Covid-19 meant the project was redesigned from an in-person 2-week workshop to a set of intensive online training sessions which were able to involve more people, widening the reach and making this more accessible. The interactive trainings were co-designed and delivered over several weeks by staff in St Andrews. This helped to develop stronger South-South and North-South collaborative networks, and led to the development of the St Andrews African Research Network (StAAR), which has recently won follow-on funding to consolidate its activities through a central online hub, advanced trainings, seminar series and analysis partnerships.

StAAR researchers have used this strengthened network to design an interdisciplinary project investigating how Covid-19 has impacted antibiotic use and AMR in Uganda and Tanzania, which recently won GCRF funding from NIHR/MRC to run for 18 months.