Confronting Antimicrobial Resistance in Malawian Poultry Farming: Policy and Practice Post-Pandemic
- Project status
- Ongoing
- Departments
- International
This project evaluates how changing cultures of poultry meat consumption and agricultural systems in Malawi have implications for tackling the global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) challenge. AMR in agriculture is a concern, with increasing cases reported of strains of bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics. While antibiotics are a tool to maintain health and welfare on-farm, the problem is their disproportionate use in animals, reducing availability for humans and catalyzing resistance. We will assess the relationships between increased meat consumption, transforming food systems, and antibiotic dosing in poultry farming in the context of weakly regulated antibiotic use in Malawi. We aim to generate culturally and geographically sensitive understandings of antibiotic use in the sector, with the objective of informing antibiotic stewardship initiatives and the Malawian Government’s AMR strategy. Policies for the optimization of antibiotic use are most likely to be effective if they align with the experiences of farmers in particular places.
Research Team: Professor Alexandra Hughes, Newcastle University; Professor Alister Munthali, University of Malawi; Profesor Emma Roe, University of Southampton