A major collaborative report on understanding antibiotic use and tackling drug-resistant infections was launched on Wednesday 24 February 2021 by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The report summarises lessons from the research hub “Antimicrobials in Society” and captures key social research contributions across disciplines, institutions, and countries to improve policy and practice on the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance that is feared to contribute to as much as 10 million deaths annually by 2050.

The extensive inter- and transdisciplinary research by Assistant Professor in GSD, Dr Marco J Haenssgen, and his collaborators has formed a key contribution to the report. Spanning research projects across Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam, this work covers topics as diverse as the limitations of education and awareness raising, the role of precarity in rendering health behaviours seemingly “irrational,” and the social role of diagnostic interventions.

The report entitled “Addressing antibiotic use: insights from social science around the world” is a key output of the Antimicrobials in Society project and was led by Professor Clare Chandler and Ms Alice Thompson at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.