Middle-income country solutions for a global AMR problem: innovative health financing and the regulation of ‘essential antibiotics’ in Sri Lanka

I will study the effect of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on healthcare in Sri Lanka. Using a critical historical approach, I will examine the evolution of import and distribution policies for antibiotics, the politics of primary healthcare and universal health coverage, and the interactions between these trends and the work of the United Nations (UN) and WHO in South Asia. I will look at arguments about AMR and critically analyse current policy trends. 

Using systematic reviews and health economics to develop an understanding of antibiotic use and AMR incidence in hospitals in the country, I will create pragmatic health financing models for the regulation of so-called ‘essential antibiotics’. 

My findings will be discussed at two WHO Global Health Histories seminars in Colombo and Copenhagen, organised with the WHO regional office for Europe and the Sri Lankan government.