Periodic Reporting for period 1 - JPIAMR-ACTION (JPIAMR- ANTIMICROBIAL TRANSMISSION INTERVENTIONS)
Reporting period: 2021-01-01 to 2022-02-28
Antimicrobials have saved millions of lives throughout the many decades they have been in use as a common drug to treat infection. However, antimicrobial resistance is now a global health security challenge and it is predicted that by 2050 up to 10 million human lives could be lost annually due to antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. Similarly, invasive fungal infections are life threating and are of increasing importance due to the expanding population of immunosuppressed patients and the limited number of available antifungal treatments. In addition, AMR limits our ability to achieve several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The global challenge to address AMR goes beyond the production of new antibiotics and therapies. Reducing demand for new antibiotics through public awareness, infection prevention and control, prudent and rational use of antibiotics for humans and animals, as well as effective diagnosis and surveillance of antibiotic-resistant infections and monitoring antibiotic use, are crucial when dealing with this problem globally.
The objectives of JPIAMR-ACTION are to:
•Increase understanding of transmission pathways of AMR in and between humans, animals and the environment, and allow for the identification of preventative measures or interventions that can be used to limit transmission of AMR genes, residues and organisms.
•Promote research aimed to develop and test infection prevention and control measures and One Health intervention strategies and methodologies to prevent or reduce the transmission and spread of AMR.
•Promote research on interventions that will lower the use of antibiotics in human and animal healthcare and lead to a reduction in the risk that AMR poses to health.
•Increase mobilisation of national funding by implementing sustainable coordination and alignment of research amongst the countries participating in JPIAMR-ACTION, and beyond, by launching a transnational call for proposals with EC co-funding resulting in grants to third parties.
•Implement the JPIAMR SRIA and Roadmap of Actions 2019-2024 through a series of additional activities without EU co-funding, including research calls, network calls and the undertaking of activities through the JPIAMR-Virtual Research Institute (JPIAMR-VRI).
The objectives of JPIAMR-ACTION are to:
•Increase understanding of transmission pathways of AMR in and between humans, animals and the environment, and allow for the identification of preventative measures or interventions that can be used to limit transmission of AMR genes, residues and organisms.
•Promote research aimed to develop and test infection prevention and control measures and One Health intervention strategies and methodologies to prevent or reduce the transmission and spread of AMR.
•Promote research on interventions that will lower the use of antibiotics in human and animal healthcare and lead to a reduction in the risk that AMR poses to health.
•Increase mobilisation of national funding by implementing sustainable coordination and alignment of research amongst the countries participating in JPIAMR-ACTION, and beyond, by launching a transnational call for proposals with EC co-funding resulting in grants to third parties.
•Implement the JPIAMR SRIA and Roadmap of Actions 2019-2024 through a series of additional activities without EU co-funding, including research calls, network calls and the undertaking of activities through the JPIAMR-Virtual Research Institute (JPIAMR-VRI).
During the Reporting Period 1 the work performed has been centred around developing and implementing the cofunded call "One Health interventions to prevent or reduce the development and transmission of AMR.”
In WP1 a management and coordination framework was implemented for the JPIAMR-ACTION project, in order to continuously orientate all activities towards the objectives, and to ensure their fulfilment within time plan and budget.
In WP2 and 3 the call text and related documents have been developed, the electronic submission and partner search tools implemented and the call has been launched and concluded. In total 19 projects were selected for funding. All processes supporting the call have been smoothly executed and all deliverables submitted to the EC in a timely manner. The 19 funded projects requested a total amount of 25.8 million Euros. The projects funded under the call were diverse and multidisciplinary, covering transmission in bacteria, food chain, environment, clinical settings etc. and addressed the various objectives of the call and covered various focal areas in terms of a One Health perspective.
Activities in WP4 are prepared to implement the monitoring and evaluation to be conducted in the second reporting period. In addition, a symposium of the funded projects is under development.
In WP5 the call was widely announced and the results of the call were communicated via different JPIAMR information channels including the JPIAMR newsletter, website and social media.
In WP6 “additional activities” aiming to further implement the JPIAMR Strategic Research Agenda have been developed in the form of two additional calls to be conducted in 2022. These are:
•Development and implementation of the first stage of the first additional call: “Disrupting drug resistance using innovative design” which is a joint transnational call for research projects
•Development and implementation of the first stage of the second additional call: “Diagnostics and Surveillance Networks” which is a call for Networks
In WP1 a management and coordination framework was implemented for the JPIAMR-ACTION project, in order to continuously orientate all activities towards the objectives, and to ensure their fulfilment within time plan and budget.
In WP2 and 3 the call text and related documents have been developed, the electronic submission and partner search tools implemented and the call has been launched and concluded. In total 19 projects were selected for funding. All processes supporting the call have been smoothly executed and all deliverables submitted to the EC in a timely manner. The 19 funded projects requested a total amount of 25.8 million Euros. The projects funded under the call were diverse and multidisciplinary, covering transmission in bacteria, food chain, environment, clinical settings etc. and addressed the various objectives of the call and covered various focal areas in terms of a One Health perspective.
Activities in WP4 are prepared to implement the monitoring and evaluation to be conducted in the second reporting period. In addition, a symposium of the funded projects is under development.
In WP5 the call was widely announced and the results of the call were communicated via different JPIAMR information channels including the JPIAMR newsletter, website and social media.
In WP6 “additional activities” aiming to further implement the JPIAMR Strategic Research Agenda have been developed in the form of two additional calls to be conducted in 2022. These are:
•Development and implementation of the first stage of the first additional call: “Disrupting drug resistance using innovative design” which is a joint transnational call for research projects
•Development and implementation of the first stage of the second additional call: “Diagnostics and Surveillance Networks” which is a call for Networks
The outputs, outcomes and the impact generated by the projects funded under the “call “One Health interventions to prevent or reduce the development and transmission of AMR” will be monitored in the second reporting period for JPIAMR-ACTION. It is anticipated that these projects will support new knowledge generation to address AMR at regional, national and global scale with One Health approach.
Since AMR is a worldwide issue, it is of importance to extend research activities outside of the European/North American research area and include LMICs. The participation of three development agencies in the call (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions from Denmark and International Development Research Centre from Canada) allowed the funding of researchers from LMICs. The 19 funded projects involve 112 funded partners coming from 33 countries, 15 of them being LMICs.
The 19 projects that have been allocated funding in the co-funded call “One Health interventions to prevent or reduce the development and transmission of AMR” cover all three areas of One Health – human health, animal health and the environment. In total, 74% of the funded proposals are relevant for the three One Health settings, 95% of them are relevant for human health, 95% for animal health and 84% for the environmental health.
Since AMR is a worldwide issue, it is of importance to extend research activities outside of the European/North American research area and include LMICs. The participation of three development agencies in the call (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions from Denmark and International Development Research Centre from Canada) allowed the funding of researchers from LMICs. The 19 funded projects involve 112 funded partners coming from 33 countries, 15 of them being LMICs.
The 19 projects that have been allocated funding in the co-funded call “One Health interventions to prevent or reduce the development and transmission of AMR” cover all three areas of One Health – human health, animal health and the environment. In total, 74% of the funded proposals are relevant for the three One Health settings, 95% of them are relevant for human health, 95% for animal health and 84% for the environmental health.