Converging AMR and vaccine agendas in LMICs of South/ South-East Asia
Vaccines are one of the most effective, evidence-based public health interventions available. They are estimated to save over 4 million lives yearly and help people of all ages live longer, healthier lives. Immunisation has been one of the key global strategies to improve public health outcomes, particularly in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Routine childhood immunisation is delivered through national immunisation programmes (NIPs) in most LMICs; however, its coverage remains variable.
The relationship between vaccines and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is intricate and multifaceted. By preventing infections, vaccines decrease the demand for antibiotics, as well as their inappropriate use in the treatment of infections. This in turn helps mitigate the development and spread of AMR. Decreased use of antibiotics reduces the selective pressure that drives the emergence of resistant bacteria. Additionally, some vaccines target bacteria directly, further contributing to the containment of AMR.
Although the value of vaccines in tackling resistant infections is acknowledged, the challenge lies in quantifying the exact impact of vaccines on resistance-related health outcomes, especially the economic value of those outcomes in comparison with other investments to tackle AMR. Recent efforts highlight the impact of vaccines in reducing infectious disease burden, the need for treatment with antibiotics, and the health and economic consequences resulting from the treatment of complex and hard-to-treat infections using modelling studies for specific LMIC contexts.
In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed a Vaccine Action Framework to guide vaccine stakeholders in supporting the use of vaccines to tackle AMR. The framework identifies a series of priority goals to be taken by stakeholders in the fields of immunisation and AMR, in three areas:
1. Expanding the use of licensed vaccines to maximize impact on AMR
2. Developing new vaccines that contribute to the prevention and control of AMR
3. Expanding and sharing knowledge on the impact of vaccines on AMR
The International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS) and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) are expanding on their existing partnership and announcing a joint Request for Proposal (RFP) to address the last goal from the Vaccine Action Framework by inviting proposals from South and South-East Asian LMICs to suggest recommendations and actionable strategies for including AMR as an important metric in the investment case for vaccines in human health.
The population of South Asia is estimated to be 2.4 billion (25% of the world’s population), and of this a total of 675 million populate South-East Asian countries. Countries in these regions face a high burden of AMR and have well-established and robust national childhood immunisation programs, as well as a good availability of life course vaccines in the region. IVI has an established network of partners in the region as part of its project portfolio in vaccine research and development. ICARS is expanding its efforts in the region with a portfolio of projects that focus on testing solutions for AMR mitigation using the intervention-implementation research (IIR) framework.
Through this RFP, both IVI and ICARS aim to establish and nurture a knowledge network of vaccine and AMR stakeholders, which will provide thought leadership for advancing the use of vaccines in human health to prevent and manage AMR.
The aim and scope of this request for proposals
This RFP will support a single project aimed at aligning the AMR and vaccine agendas at the country level in an LMIC context in South and Southeast Asia. The outcome of the successful proposal is a project that aims to provide key recommendations and strategies to integrate vaccines as a tool to mitigate AMR. It will bring together stakeholders from the National Action Plan on AMR, National or State Immunisation Programs, and other immunisation stakeholders. The successful proposal will also outline possible research along the intervention-implementation continuum.
The project should build on existing local evidence and knowledge to provide key recommendations and actionable strategies to help relevant stakeholders in LMICs integrate vaccine initiatives with AMR mitigation efforts. The project (developed either through a single institution or a consortium of research institutions in partnership) should generate local evidence to advocate and advance the use of vaccines to mitigate the burden of AMR in LMICs. The grant recipient and the implementing team(s) must be based in an LMIC geographical context.
Templates and Process
Download all the relevant documents below:
Template for the CV of Researchers in the Project Team
The deadline for submission is September 16th, 2024.
To submit your proposal or in case of any questions please e-mail: rfp_amrandvaccines@icars-global.org.
We look forward to receiving your proposal!
