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British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward and Vietnamese Vice Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the UK Government’s Fleming Fund, further strengthening our partnership to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

The UK Government has signed a MoU with the Government of Vietnam further strengthening a partnership between the two countries to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The agreement supports the existing work of UK aid’s Fleming Fund in Vietnam, a programme aimed at equipping laboratories and strengthening AMR surveillance systems in low-and middle-income countries.

Commenting on the announcement, British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward said, "COVID -19 has shown that countries must work together to address global health threats. Drug resistance is a hidden and growing pandemic. Researchers estimate some 700,000 people die each year from drug resistant infections, but if the current trends continue that number could rise to 10 million deaths a year by 2050. I am delighted to sign this MoU which further strengthens the UK-Vietnam partnership on antimicrobial resistance. The collaboration is underpinned by £8.9m investment from the UK’s Fleming Fund which will improve laboratory capacity and surveillance of AMR in Vietnam across human health and animal health sectors."

For his part, Vice Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son said, "The MoU signing today marks an important milestone in establishing trust and cooperation between the two sides and facilitating the support by the UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Fleming Fund Management Agent in improving antimicrobial resistance surveillance, contributing to the development of the long-term friendship and cooperation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Health and the UK’s DHSC. Based on MoU, many technical activities have been proposed for implementation in the coming period, such as information sharing, technical support, policy development, capacity building, and training on antimicrobial resistance."

The Fleming Fund, managed by the UK Department of Health and Social Care in partnership with Mott MacDonald, the Fleming Fund Management Agent for the Country and Regional Grants and Fellowship Programme, invests in AMR surveillance to generate data about drug resistance and drug use. Data can then be shared to support patient care, improve health policies and build a picture of global resistance trends.

AMR is a hidden and growing pandemic. Researchers estimate some 700,000 people die each year from drug resistant infections, but if the current trends continue that number could rise to 10 million deaths a year by 2050.

The Fleming Fund has been working in Vietnam since 2015 but invested nearly £9 million in the country in 2019, appointing FHI360 to support 23 laboratories, improve One Health information sharing and support a joint One Health surveillance system. This activity will complement Vietnam’s existing One Health Strategy that focuses on longterm capacity building, preparedness and prevention across human health, animal health and the environment.

Reducing the threat of drug resistance in Vietnam is critical, as research suggests the country has one of the highest rates of antimicrobial drug use in Asia. Drug resistance is largely driven by global overuse of antibiotics in healthcare and farming and, because antibiotics underpin almost all medical care, drug resistance jeopardises the effectiveness of modern medicine.

AMR occurs when bacteria survive exposure to antibiotics that would normally kill them. To manage this growing threat, fundamental changes are needed in the way antibiotics are consumed and manufactured. Better data is also needed to understand how resistance develops and how drugs are used./.

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