Data Challenge: TOWARDS INCLUSIVE AMR PREDICTION

Antimicrobial resistance surveillance remains blind to persons with disabilities (PWDs) — a population constituting nearly 15% of Nigeria’s national population and 12% of adults — despite compounding structural risk factors including communication barriers, caregiver dependency, hospital avoidance, and reliance on unprescribed antibiotic access. Ishola et al. confirmed that PWDs remain among the most data-poor and policy-neglected groups in Nigeria’s health architecture, while Adebisi et al. demonstrated that none of the 14 reviewed West African AMR National Action Plans explicitly identify PWDs as a surveillance priority group. Although the Nigeria Inclusive Data Charter Action Plan mandates disability-disaggregated data collection, implementation remains operationally weak and underfunded. In addition, major global datasets, including the Vivli AMR Register, currently provide no disability-disaggregated AMR data, leaving a critical evidence gap in understanding AMR vulnerability among PWDs. This study combines the Vivli AMR Register ATLAS dataset, primary community survey data from approximately 250 PWDs in Nigeria, and the Global AMR R&D Hub funding dashboard to generate the first cross-domain characterization of AMR vulnerability within this population. Using bioinformatics and machine learning approaches, the research will identify African AMR burden patterns across pathogens, resistance genes, and antibiotic classes while also developing the first AMR Behavioral Risk Index (ABRI) for PWDs in sub-Saharan Africa. The study will further examine how behavioral vulnerability patterns align with global resistance trends and assess gaps between AMR burden, disability vulnerability, and current R&D funding priorities. The findings will help improve patient outcomes through earlier identification of high-risk groups and targeted interventions for safer antibiotic use. The research will strengthen antimicrobial stewardship by identifying drivers of antibiotic misuse within underserved communities, inform public health practice through evidence for disability-inclusive AMR surveillance and policy development, and strengthen health systems by supporting more equitable healthcare planning, surveillance inclusion, and evidence-based AMR funding priorities.