Fleming Fund

Page sections:

Updated: 24, Nov 2025

The Fleming Fund is a UK aid program to support low- and middle-income countries to undertake surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to inform action.

The Fleming Fund Fellowship Scheme is one of the programs under the Fleming Fund initiative and supports the professional development of technical experts to strengthen AMR or antimicrobial consumption and use (AMC/AMU) surveillance and policy.

The Fellowships are based in national institutions including national reference laboratories, hospitals, and government agencies. The Fellowships are delivered through a model of mentorship and on-the-job training, collaborative projects and intensive workshops, to support implementation of National AMR Action Plans, using a One Health approach.

The Doherty Institute’s WHO Collaborating Centre for AMR and the University of Melbourne’s Asia-Pacific Centre for Animal Health have a large international capacity building, training and implementation program to support prevention and surveillance of AMR across five countries in the Asia-Pacific region – Bhutan, Nepal, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, and Pakistan. As a Host Institution, the Centres will be host to more than 100 Fellows, with over half of them already completed in the first phase (2019 – 2023).

Countries

WHO Collaborating Centre for AMR and the Asia-Pacific Centre for Animal Health Fellowship Countries

Bhutan

Nepal

Pakistan

Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) | Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (MNHSRC) | National Institute of Health (NIH) | Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) | National Veterinary Laboratory (NVL) | Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) | Livestock and Dairy Development Department | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)

Papua New Guinea

Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL) | Ministry of Health Pharmaceutical Services Standards Branch (PSSB) | National Agriculture and Quarantine Inspection Authority (NAQIA) | Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) | National Fisheries Authority (NFA) | Goroka Provincial Hospital | National Animal Health and Food Testing Laboratory (NAHFTL)

Timor Leste

Key themes of fellowships

Phase I Fellowships

53 Fellowships have been completed to date across the five countries. There has been a significant impact on the Fellows’ professional skillset, including:

Being better equipped to develop and implement AMU/AMS programs
Having an increased depth of knowledge in understanding in microbiology, AMR Surveillance, Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing across human and animal health settings
Developed leadership, communication and data analysis skills
Participating in international engagement opportunities and regional communities of practice and networking
Being better placed to create and implement policies and engage with stakeholders at both the local and provincial levels
Becoming local champions on AMR at the Beneficiary Institutions

Phase I Fellows Collaborative Cross-Sectoral Workshop (2023)

Meet Phase I Fellows

Kinley Wangchuk

Cohort 1

Antimicrobial Resistance Laboratory Fellowship

In-charge, Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, JDWNRH, Thimphu

Tshering Dorji

Cohort 1

Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Fellowship

Chief Technical Officer, Centre for Advanced Research

Thupten Tshering

Cohort 1

Antimicrobial Consumption Surveillance Fellowship

Head of Pharmacy and Lead Pharmacist, National Focal for AMC Surveillance

Pem Chuki

Cohort 1

Antimicrobial Use Surveillance Fellowship

Antimicrobial Stewardship Focal, JDWNRH, Thimphu

Ugyen Namygel

Cohort 1

Animal Health Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Fellowship Head of Drug Vaccine and Equipment Unit, National Centre for Animal Health

Puspa Sharma

Cohort 1

Animal Health Antimicrobial Resistance Laboratory Fellowship

Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer, National Veterinary Hospital, Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests

Pema Tshewang

Cohort 1

Animal Health Antimicrobial Resistance Use and Consumption Surveillance Fellowship

Deputy Chief Laboratory Officer, Royal Center for Disease Control

Kinley Gyem

Cohort 2

Human Health Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance

Head, ICT Unit, Royal Centre for Disease Control

Thinley Jamtsho

Cohort 2

Human Health Bioinformatics

Deputy Chief Laboratory Officer, National Food Testing Laboratory

Anil Rai

Cohort 2

Antimicrobial Resistance Food Testing Fellowship

Chief Laboratory Officer, National Food Testing Laboratory, Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Yusipang

Chendu Dorji

Cohort 2

Animal Health Antimicrobial Stewardship and Biosecurity

Chief Veterinary Officer, Head – Animal Health, Laboratory and Breeding Section, Regional Livestock Development Centre

Sherub Phuntso

Cohort 2

Animal Health Antimicrobial Stewardship and Biosecurity

Deputy Chief Regulatory and Quarantine Officer, Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests

Sonam Wangda

Policy

Human Health Antimicrobial Resistance Advocacy and Health Economics Fellowship

Deputy Chief Program Officer at the Healthcare and Diagnostic Division, Department of Medical Services, Ministry of Health

Ratna Gurung

Policy

Human Health Antimicrobial Resistance Advocacy and Health Economics Fellowship

Program Director, Head, National Centre for Animal Health

Phase II Fellowships

Phase II of the Fellowships commenced in 2024, with 8 professional Fellowships and 2 policy Fellowships in Timor-Leste, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Nepal, and Bhutan. Fellows are supported for a period of approximately 18 months to build their technical and leadership skills through mentorship, specialised training and participation in collaborative projects.

Professional Fellowships

The aim of these Fellowships is to improve the Fellows’ ability to generate and use AMR/AMU and AMC data, improve data analysis and interpretation, strengthen One Health collaboration and support the dissemination of skills within their workplaces.

The Professional Fellowships are working across the Human Health, Animal Health, Food Laboratory, and Environmental Health sectors. Professional Fellows will seek to achieve these main objectives:

Enhance knowledge of AMR and its economic and social impact Improve the ability of Fellows to generate and use country-level data on AMR
Improve the use and interpretation of AMR and AMU data, including for practice and policymaking
Improve the dissemination of relevant knowledge and skills in Beneficiary Institutions and more widely
Strengthen One Health collaboration.

Policy Fellowships

These Fellowships are designed to strengthen national leadership in evidence-based policy development, advocacy and One Health collaboration. The programme supports national AMR governance, helps raise awareness within national governments about AMR issues and translates data and evidence into policy recommendations.

The Policy Fellowships are embedded in government agencies, including Ministries of Health and Agriculture. Policy Fellows will seek to:

Advocate for AMR as a global health priority, strengthen national AMR leadership and governance within a One Health framework
Work collaboratively with key stakeholders to support the production and analysis of quality AMR data, aiming to improve evidence-based decision making and policy development
Enable sustainable AMR workforce development and system strengthening