The aim of this visit was to discover the Mérieux Foundation and its actions in Laos, with a particular focus on one of its projects focusing on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), carried out with the support of the Fleming Fund – the British Government’s AMR aid program. Her Excellency, Mrs. Mel Barlow, had the opportunity to visit various project sites in Vientiane, including Setthathirath Hospital and the National Animal Health Laboratory. These visits enabled her to gain a better understanding of the project’s challenges and meet the various people involved, offering a valuable perspective on the efforts being made to build laboratory capacity and improve infectious disease surveillance in Laos.
Exchanges with local partners underlined the importance of international collaboration and financial support from the Fleming Fund to strengthen surveillance and laboratory systems in Laos. The immersion highlighted the tangible impact of the Mérieux Foundation’s initiatives and reinforced the stakeholders’ committment to continue their efforts to combat AMR in the region.
About the project
The UK government has supported the Fleming Fund since 2015. The Fleming Fund’s aim is to tackle the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The Fleming Fund’s program of national, regional and fellowship grants managed by Mott MacDonald, aims to improve member countries’ capacity to diagnose antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, generate data and strengthen surveillance to inform policy and practice at national and international levels. In 2019, Mot MacDonald launched a “national grant” call for proposals to strengthen the antimicrobial resistance surveillance system in Laos.
In Laos, the Mérieux Foundation has been selected as the “lead national grantee” to implement activities related to this grant in line with the Fleming Fund’s strategies and initiatives. Drawing on its experience and in-depth knowledge of the Lao context, the Mérieux Foundation worked with LOMWRU and Chulalongkorn University to extend the geographical coverage of the project sites, also including the animal health sector. This unique health project was carefully designed with coordination between the human and animal health sectors.
In the next phase of the Fleming Fund (phase II), the Mérieux Foundation will continue to support Laos’ AMR surveillance system, focusing on the production, analysis and sharing of quality human health data. This will enable the program to develop a sustainable long-term investment plan to combat AMR by better understanding its prevalence and epidemiological trends at country level.