Economics of antimicrobial resistance

AMR impacts on people’s health but little is known about how this translates into the cost of providing healthcare in Africa. Resistance to commonly used antimicrobial agents in the region is likely to result in more costly or intensive use of healthcare services by those affected. Linking the economic and health consequences of AMR is essential for policymakers to better understand the value in investing in strategies to mitigate further resistance developing.

We aim to explore the impact of AMR on the costs of proving inpatient medical care. We will then extrapolate these costs to the national level and estimate the current and future economic burden of AMR. We will estimate the economic impact of rising resistance and potential investments that could be made through implementing effective strategies. The economic findings will also be utilised in the wider DRUM work adding an economic component to the modelling work being undertaken. Costs estimated in this work strand will be utilised in the modelling work to explore the cost-effectiveness of potential interventions.