The long-awaited opening of the Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance in Western Norway (CAMRIA) took place on May 30, 2022 in Eitri Medical Incubator in Bergen.
The event began with welcome from Nina Langeland, professor of clinical infectious diseases from the University of Bergen and CAMRIA leader. She emphasized how pressing the issue of antimicrobial resistance has become: ‘In the long run, antimicrobial resistance might become an even bigger health problem than COVID-19, both globally and in Norway’, hence the importance of limiting unnecessary antibiotic use, and reserving new antibiotics for the patients who really need them. The new Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance in Western Norway is expected to contribute to the knowledge about how resistance to one medicine affects the development of resistance to others. CAMRIA’s interdisciplinary profile will also help in getting insights on antimicrobial resistance not only from researchers, but also healthcare workers, patients and politicians with the ultimate goal of bringing about the much-needed change in behaviors among these groups.
Norway’s Minister of Health and Care Services Ingvild Kjerkol gave an opening speech, wishing CAMRIA good luck in this important collaboration on antimicrobial resistance. ‘Antibiotics are a common good, and we must cooperate across national borders and various disciplines to make sure that they continue to be effective and that they represent a security and framework for the treatment we provide throughout the health services in Norway as well’.
Trond Mohn Foundation’s Chair of the Board, Stener Kvinnsland, UiB Rector Margareth Hagen, Helse Bergen’s CEO Eivind Hansen and Helse Stavanger’s Research Director Svein Skeie were also present at the event and gave speeches highlighting the relevance of the AMR research and expressing interest in CAMRIA’s future findings.
In the following part of the event, the three scientific projects – MARGIN, HyperEvol and Media and AMR were presented by their leaders: Randi Jacobsen Bertelsen, Iain Johnston and Ingrid Smith respectively. The project leaders introduced the details of their projects to the audience and explained how their research will contribute to the AMR-research.
Watch the gallery from the event below:
Photos: © Øystein Fykse