CDC Funds $22M for Global Efforts Against Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AR) is growing problem around the world and can lead to the increase of health care-acquired infections (HAIs). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced this week it has awarded US$22 million to nearly 30 organizations around the world to combat AR and other infection control threats through the establishment of two new networks—the Global Action in Healthcare Network (GAIHN) and the Global AR Laboratory and Response Network (Global AR Lab & Response Network).

These two new networks, along with additional short-term research projects, will build programs in more than 50 countries that focus on preventing health care infections through proven infection control methods; build laboratory capacity to detect antimicrobial-resistant organisms in health care facilities, the community, and environment; and develop new and innovative ways to detect and respond to threats like AR and COVID-19 more rapidly.

The goal of the GAIHN network is to create a global collaborative network of countries, institutions, and partners to address and reduce priority emerging infections in health care settings. The Global AR Lab & Response Network will work with the CDC’s domestic AR Lab Network to improve the detection of emerging AR threats and identify risk factors that drive the emergence and spread of AR.

“Antimicrobial resistance is not going away and new AR threats will continue to emerge,” said Denise Cardo, MD, Director of the CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. “CDC’s domestic AR Lab Network is an established model for detecting emerging antimicrobial resistance threats. Today, these new investments will build on this model and span much of the globe, leveraging proven expertise to fill critical gaps and inform data-driven responses before threats can spread in communities, across borders, or around the world.”

Learn more about HAIs and superbugs.