Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious global threat, for which the World Health Organisation
(WHO) applies the 'Think globally, act locally' principle. Since 2015, the Global-PPS (G-PPS) is a
standardized, user-friendly online tool to assess antibiotic use in hospitals worldwide and initiate
data-driven interventions. This has led to impactful interventions and strong scientific collaborations
with more than 1,600 hospitals in 100+ countries, and a vast data collection on global antibiotic use.
In 2024, G-PPS initiated a WHO harmonization process with the aim of evolving into a WHO
Collaborating Centre in 2026 and becoming the unique global tool in this domain.
Also locally, in Flanders, we face a significant problem of AMR and healthcare-associated infections
(HAI). There is a need for innovative, context-specific research to guide AMS and IPC practices in
both acute and chronic care settings.
The "Flanders-PPS" project therefore aims to (1) further upgrade the G-PPS tool for use in Flemish
acute and chronic care institutions, including the development of a new module on HAI, (2) expand
the WHO harmonization process, ensuring its anchoring in Flanders (3) study the impact of various
AMS and IPC interventions through advanced modelling, and (4) build a broad consortium of Flemish
healthcare institutions for innovative research into interventions in AMS and IPC ("Flanders AMS") - a
complementary research infrastructure, in synergy with existing surveillance systems .
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