July 2025: Emily O'Reilly and Nadia MacArthur host a new podcast highlighting the work of The Fleming Fund Fellowship Scheme at the University of Edinburgh, which aims to support the professional development of practitioners and influencers to boost AMR workforce capacity. The AMR Exchange podcast series Global voices, shared solutions The Fleming Fund is a UK Government Aid Programme and is administered by the Department of Health and Social Care. The programme aims to improve AMR surveillance, raise public awareness and promote responsible use of antibiotics in LMICs.Edinburgh Infectious Diseases is working with Fleming Fund fellows from Uganda, Malawi, Zambia and Kenya to build capacity for surveillance of AMR.The AMR Exchange is, at its heart, stories of collaboration, innovation in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Nearly 80 years ago, Alexander Fleming warned that the misuse of antibiotics could lead to drug-resistant infections. That warning has become our reality. Today, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) causes millions of deaths each year and threatens the future of modern medicine. The AMR Exchange: Global Voices, Shared Solutions brings together powerful stories from those tackling AMR across Eastern and Southern Africa regions. I really felt that a podcast series to accompany the Fleming Fund Fellowship Scheme would be a valuable on so many levels. Mainly, to share the research that the Fleming fellows are undertaking, individually as well as collaboratively within their countries, but also to really get an insight into the effect that AMR is having by providing colleagues in the participant countries the opportunity to share and discuss widely the challenges and impacts that AMR is having; insights and knowledge that cannot be gleaned solely from the academic literature or from our desks in Edinburgh! Emily O'Reilly Fleming Fund Mentor, University of Edinburgh Episode 1 - Introducing the Fleming Fund Fellowship Scheme In this first episode, Emily O'Reilly (Mentor - Fleming Fund Fellowship) and Nadia MacArthur (Training and Communications Manager - Fleming Fund Fellowship) explore how the programme is supporting professionals from Malawi, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Fellows share their real-world impact of the programme in their countries. Emily explains wat AMR is and why it is so important to approach it through the One Health perspective. We also hear from Professor Till Bachmann, who explains how the grant system works, the importance of the initiative and how phase 2 is building on the phase 1 cohort. Listen to the first episode here! Episode 2: AMR - The Quintessential One Health Challenge In the second episode of The AMR Exchange, Dr Adrian Muwonge shares his journey from veterinary science to co-directing the Fleming Fund Fellowship Scheme at the University of Edinburgh. He explains how the environment, agriculture, and human health intersect in the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and how the Fellowship Scheme is building a new generation of AMR leaders across Africa.We hear about collaborative projects, the challenges of cross-sector data sharing, and why empowering fellows to co-create solutions is key to sustainable change.Plus, a powerful story of innovation from William Olum, a recently retired Ugandan pharmacist from Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, who transformed hospital infection control. Listen to the second episode here! Related links The Fleming Fund Fellowship Scheme, University of EdinburghThe Fleming FundThe AMR Exchange Podcast Publication date 08 Jul, 2025
