There is a major need to understand the changing global health landscape due to the social and economic effects of globalisation. Many factors, including increases in migration, urbanisation, climate change and world-wide instability, call for an interdisciplinary approach to research and a need to develop international partnerships to tackle the many issues of human health that can only be addressed in a global context.
From climate change to antibiotic resistance, the health challenges facing the human race, intertwined with that of the animal and plant world and the effect on our food chains, are complex and interconnected. Elizabeth Blackwell Institute Director, Pat Kehoe, explains the importance of establishing international research partnerships:
“Complex problems sometimes require complex solutions but innovative and equitable partnerships that facilitate meaningful engagement with people and communities with relevant lived experiences, as well as relevant public agencies and other partners in a position to bring about change, is really the only way to be able to truly get to grips researching the problems to hopefully help create solutions that have impact. A lot of this fuels our interest to support research related to Climate Change and Health that we are doing in partnership with Cabot Institute for the Environment, and where we are working to grow a new cohort of interdisciplinary trained PhD students.”
This also is the backdrop against which we launched a scheme in June 2024 to provide University of Bristol researchers with access to short-term funding for activities and partnerships that focus on research activities, policy issues or capacity strengthening in health research areas in countries that are on the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list of recipients of official development assistance (ODA). Below we introduce the successful awardees and explain what they will be researching.
Meet the researchers
Sion Bayliss, Bristol Veterinary School
Partnering with Division of Medical Microbiology, University of Cape Town
Using nanopore sequencing for rapid antimicrobial resistance profiling of Non-typhoidal Salmonella in South Africa
In Sub-Saharan Africa, salmonellosis caused by non-typhoidal S. enterica (NTS) can cause invasive disease in individuals with HIV, malnutrition or sickle cell disease. Emerging antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major concern for NTS treatment, with multi-drug resistant (MDR) Salmonella Typhi underpinning a large proportion of NTS cases. This project will explore the application of the ONT MinION genome sequencer for rapid whole genome sequencing (WGS) serotyping and AMR detection on South Africa (SA) NTS blood culture isolates. SA researchers will be trained at the University of Bristol, with subsequent analysis of clinical isolates performed in SA, strengthening local diagnostic capacity and improving AMR stewardship.
Aiming for impact
This research will contribute to better health outcomes, particularly for vulnerable populations, reducing morbidity and mortality associated with AMR infections. Through long-term enhancement of workforce productivity, there will be economic impacts by lowering healthcare costs. Academically the project will help to build local research capacity and foster knowledge transfer in genomic technologies, contributing to policy development on AMR and strengthening future research. It will also empower local researchers and healthcare professionals, ensuring sustainable benefits beyond the project’s timeframe and aligning with ODA’s emphasis on capacity building and knowledge sharing.
Judy Bettridge, Bristol Veterinary School
Partnering with KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme
Kenyan Community One Health Guidelines for Antimicrobial Prescribing
Antimicrobial resistance is an increasing threat to human health, and many countries have adopted National Action Plans to address antimicrobial usage in both humans and animals. Antimicrobial prescribing practices can be improved by encouraging use of evidence-based guidelines; in Kenya, such guidelines are absent outside of large hospitals. This project applies an existing intervention design framework to scope out an approach to develop guidelines for application by human and animal health practitioners in Kenyan communities. This approach will include establishing desirable content; identifying support required to enable guidelines to be widely applied; and ways to monitor and evaluate intervention success.
Aiming for impact
The Global Action Plan for AMR has recognised the need for stronger systems that monitor resistance, enhance accountability and support best practice around antimicrobial usage. Kenya has made considerable progress in formulating and implementing AMR policy in the form of a National Action Plan. There exist sustained multisector and One Health co-ordination, national treatment guidelines for hospitals and AMR awareness campaigns. However, there are still many gaps to address, particularly at the community level, including a gap between theoretical knowledge of AMR and suppliers and users of antimicrobials applying such knowledge to their everyday practices.
With the data from this project, we will formulate further funding applications with African partners to move the project through co-design, implementation and evaluation stages within five years. Academic impacts can also inform current Kenyan initiatives, including the establishment of a national platform to monitor antimicrobial usage and expanding stewardship programmes to more facilities.
Aaron Lim, Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Partnering with the Cambodian National Institute of Public Health
Building the foundation for hepatitis B virus modelling in Cambodia
Our proposal, in collaboration with the Cambodian National Institute of Public Health (NIPH), lays the foundations for modelling Hepatitis B virus (HBV) in Cambodia. It comprises three primary activities: 1) a scoping review of existing studies on HBV in Cambodia; 2) investigating if these data are amenable for adapting and parameterising existing HBV mathematical models; and 3) developing modelling capacity within Cambodia. Modelling capacity is a high priority for NIPH and will have wider scope than just HBV. The crucial preliminary work in this proposal will position us to develop a partnership, and apply for larger grant funding next year.
Aiming for impact
The modelling group at the University of Bristol has world-class expertise in modelling the epidemiological impact and cost-effectiveness of interventions to reduce the burden of blood-borne viruses, including country-level analyses of HBV (e.g. Rwanda). The immediate activities are academic and will provide a starting point for partnership building and skills development with Cambodia, as well as evaluating which data are missing to develop a bespoke HBV model for the country. Next year the researchers propose to seek additional funding to collect the data we are missing to parameterise the model and, alongside the person we have trained up, explore the potential impact of intervention strategies to reduce the burden of HBV in Cambodia. This will then be used to inform local policy.
Josephine Walker, Bristol Medical School
Partnering with University of Cape Town Future Water Institute
One Health Approaches to Understand Climate Impacts on Water-Related Disease in South Africa and Ethiopia
This project aims to build and strengthen a multi-disciplinary collaborative relationship between University of Bristol, University of Cape Town (South Africa), and Haramaya University (Ethiopia), focused on One Health approaches to predict and mitigate climate-change impacts on water-related diseases in South Africa and Ethiopia. It will build cross-disciplinary understanding by attending the One Health conference in Cape Town, followed by a 3 day collaborative workshop in which will (1) plan pilot focus groups to identify the most impactful direction for future research, aligning with the Africa Charter, and (2) develop a grant application to the NIHR Global Health Research call.
Aiming for impact
The research will have an academic impact in terms of health policy and capacity strengthening. It is the first step in which aims to develop feasible, realistic, community-led interventions which can reduce the risk of water-related diseases while building the resilience of urban and rural communities to climate change. The process will engage local stakeholders from the outset, bringing lived experience directly into research design and delivery through our pilot focus groups. The time frame to achieve impact starts with this project, from which pilot data will support our application to a research project to last approximately 5 years.
In the longer term there are plans for further impact on health outcomes, policy and practice, and strengthening research capacity at partner institutions. Haramaya University has partnerships with federal and regional health bureaus to co-create and identify interventions that work in local communities, and leverage policy changes.
Further information
This scheme was enabled through the University of Bristol’s International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) Institutional Support Grant (ODA), funding provided by Research England (grant reference RE-CL-2023-09).