CURRENT PLEDGES: 216890
Shared Learning 2025 – Multi-country collaborations and activities to tackle AMR
Organisation
Ducit Blue Foundation
Project title: Uniting African Youth for One Health Leadership: Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance Across Borders Through Mentorship, Innovation and Capacity Building
Project Overview
The Ducit Blue Foundation’s Pan-African Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) One Health Internship/Mentorship Programme is an innovative and impactful multi-country collaboration for succession planning initiative designed to foster the next generation of AMR champions across Africa. By focusing on capacity building, leadership development, and interdisciplinary collaboration, the programme addresses AMR through a One Health approach, integrating human, animal, and environmental health perspectives.
Spanning three successful cohorts (2020–2021, 2021–2022, 2023–2024), the programme has engaged 51 interns, 34 mentors, and 59 facilitators from 19 African countries. The programme fills a significant gap for developing future AMR solutions providers through a robust platform for aspiring professionals to receive tailored mentorship, technical training, and opportunities for multi-country collaboration. Participants benefit from dynamic modules covering AMR fundamentals, leadership, research, data analysis, and community engagement. Key partnerships with esteemed organisations like the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation-African Regional Office, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the National Institute for Medical Research (Nigeria), and One Health Lessons have amplified the programme’s reach and impact.
Interns have spearheaded innovative capstone projects, including the review of One Health curricula across African universities, analysis of National Action Plans, and development of initiatives aligned with the pillars of the Global Action Plan on AMR. These projects highlight the programme’s commitment to practical, solutions-driven outcomes.
The initiative also features a vibrant alumni network, fostering ongoing interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-country partnerships. Feedback-driven and results-oriented, the network ensures that interns remain active contributors to the fight against AMR, continuously advancing impactful solutions for Africa and beyond.
This transformative programme exemplifies the power of Pan-African collaboration in tackling AMR and has laid a strong foundation for a sustainable future in AMR leadership and One Health advocacy.
Impact on tackling AMR
The Ducit Blue Foundation Pan-African AMR One-Health Internship/Mentorship Programme has achieved significant outcomes in tackling AMR across Africa, empowering youth to drive impactful solutions.
Firstly, graduates have gone on to establish non-governmental organisations (NGOs) dedicated to advancing AMR advocacy and implementing community-based interventions across Africa. These NGOs address One Health challenges, highlighting the programme’s success in nurturing leaders committed to combating AMR and promoting sustainable health practices.
Secondly, alumni have effectively cascaded knowledge gained through the programme to over 5,000 people, through various awareness and community engagement sessions. These sessions have raised awareness about AMR and One Health, directly contributing to grassroots efforts to educate communities and encourage responsible antimicrobial use. For example, a collaboration with an NGO founded by our alumni, resulted in translating developed AMR infographics into over 50 African languages, which were used for various multi-country WAAW campaigns and Beyond WAAW. Furthermore, some alumni have leveraged the programme’s support and interest in cascading knowledge to secure funded graduate studies focused on AMR. This academic advancement has enhanced their technical expertise, equipping them to tackle AMR challenges at a higher level.
Finally, the programme’s excellence is further reflected in the global recognition of its alumni. For example, three graduates have been honoured with the prestigious Diana Award for their exceptional contributions to AMR. This international accolade underscores the programme’s transformative impact and its role in fostering world-class leaders who address AMR challenges on a global scale.
The Ducit Blue Foundation internship/mentorship programme has created a robust pipeline of youth-led initiatives, effectively tackling AMR in diverse African contexts and beyond, through its innovative, multidisciplinary, multi-country approach and emphasis on leadership development.
Future Development
Ducit Blue Foundation is committed to scaling and enhancing its Pan-African AMR One-Health Internship/Mentorship Programme to further its impact in tackling AMR across Africa.
A key future development is the expansion of strategic partnerships with organisations across sectors to diversify mentorship opportunities and secure additional funding with a sustainability mindset. This will enable us to broaden the scope of the programme, allowing more interns to benefit from tailored guidance, technical expertise, and access to resources critical for impactful AMR solutions, creating more public health champions across the region. Through the feedback received, we plan to develop the data analysis and research capacity building component of the programme, especially in light of the research output gap in the region.
We also plan to host an in-person programme for the next cohort, providing a unique opportunity for interns to engage face-to-face with their peers, mentors, and facilitators from across the region. This interaction will strengthen collaboration, foster interdisciplinary connections, and enhance learning experiences, creating a cohesive and motivated network of future AMR champions. Working with the Alumni and other youth groups in Africa we have started a youth advocacy capacity building initiative, which we aim to expand to ensure the multi country youth voice is included in key policy and decision making for addressing AMR.
Additionally, we are continuously developing the alumni network initiative, including expanding this more youth networks across the region. The feedback from the alumni further highlighted the need to sustain the programme’s impact beyond the internship period. This network serves as a platform for continuous professional growth, offering career development support, multi-country collaboration opportunities, and knowledge sharing. Conducting impact assessments will help us track their progress as solutions providers in AMR. By nurturing alumni and tracking their progress, we aim to amplify their contributions to combating AMR and position them as thought leaders in One Health across Africa and beyond.
Through these initiatives, the Ducit Blue Foundation seeks to deepen its commitment to addressing AMR while empowering a new generation of leaders to drive sustainable and impactful solutions across the continent.
Organisation
Commonwealth Pharmacists Association
Project title: Transforming Antimicrobial Stewardship: Empowering Hub and Spoke Global Health Partnerships to Combat AMR Across Borders
Project Overview
The Commonwealth Partnerships for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS), a grants programme that began in 2019, initially funded 12 Health Partnerships (HPs) across Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through improved antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). These HPs leverage the expertise of health institutions and technical experts, through bilateral learning with the UK, to strengthen the capacity of the national health workforce in participating low/middle-income countries (LMICs) to address the challenges identified in their AMR National Action Plans. In June 2021, extension grants were awarded to include four additional countries (Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi) to support 14 HPs until June 2022. In the second phase of the CwPAMS programme (CwPAMS 2), running from March 2023 to March 2025, the hub and spoke model (HSM) was adopted by eight HPs to promote strengthening and use of local AMS expertise to scale up and sustain the ongoing achievements of the CwPAMS programme in participating countries. The eight hubs were tasked to onboard spoke sites (a total of 39 across HPs) and cascade their expertise in tackling AMR through the development and dissemination of capacity and capability building interventions in local health facilities. The hubs and their respective activities were led by local AMR/AMS experts supported by their UK health partnership counterparts. The hub and spoke sites focused on the following AMR/AMS initiatives: antimicrobial use surveillance, training of healthcare teams on AMR/AMS, AMS in leadership training, development of organisational governance structure, sharing and learning of lessons across the eight CwPAMS countries and beyond.
Impact on tackling AMR
The adoption of the HSM has provided access to specialised training and AMS initiatives at 39 smaller, local centres in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda, offering unique learning opportunities and the motivation for healthcare workers to improve AMS practices. Benefits include:
1. Increased AMS capacity and expertise development: The HSM has catalysed AMS programmes in participating health institutions, fostering in-country expertise and reducing reliance on UK specialists to improve antibiotic use practices. Hub staff provided on-site support and mentorship to multidisciplinary teams at spoke sites exposing healthcare workers to various AMS aspects including behavior change, microbiology and continuous quality improvement (cQI) methodologies to support best-practice. This approach increased the AMS capacity of hubs enhancing project management skills and autonomy amongst local healthcare workers.
2. Improved AMS prescribing and use practices: Antimicrobial consumption data has been collected, analysed and disseminated to improve rational prescribing practices across health institutions through established HSM links. Local AMS Committees have been developed or reactivated, with all participating health institutions completing AMS assessments and point prevalence surveys (PPS), as well as developing/updating their AMS action plans, to carry the work forward.
3. Sustainable resource development and best-practice: The implementation of the HSM has facilitated the creation of sustainable AMS learning and data science opportunities to continuously improve practice. Locally relevant resources were developed for long-term use, ensuring the sustainability of AMS efforts. The model also facilitated cross-country knowledge sharing through ‘shared learning’ events and opportunities, such as a hub in Uganda training a Kenyan hub in on-site alcohol gel preparation, which was then cascaded to other Kenyan health institutions.
Future Development
The HSM has emerged as a cornerstone of the CwPAMS program to enhance AMS practices across participating countries by leveraging the expertise of established ‘hub’ hospitals to support and mentor ‘spoke’ facilities. An extension phase, CwPAMS 2.5, will be initiated in March 2025 focusing on the following key activities:
1. Expanding capacity and expertise in a sustainable way: We aim to create a structure for sustainable and continuous supply of skilled AMS trained workers, facilitating the spread of knowledge and skills throughout the healthcare system. By promoting a train-the-trainer approach, we aim to continue building AMS capacity across the network of hubs and spokes. This strategy addresses staff turnover challenges experienced in CwPAMS 2 by creating a critical mass of trainers within institutions, allowing for ongoing knowledge dissemination without relying on external support. Additionally, the HSM has promoted the use of standardised tools and methodologies, such as CDC’s hospital-based AMS core elements checklist, which allows for consistent AMS evaluation and improvement across healthcare.
2. Continuous learning and quality improvement: We aim to continue focusing on strengthening data-driven AMS planning across the network of hubs and spokes and a key aspect of the HSM implementation will continue to be the emphasis on cQI. This strategy allows for more integrated and comprehensive AMS planning, with spoke hospitals contributing valuable data alongside hubs to drive learning and improvement. The HSM also allows for more efficient data collection and analysis. Hubs, with their established expertise, can guide spokes in implementing cQI methodologies, ensuring that data-driven decision-making becomes a standard practice across the network.
3. Sustainability measures and impact: To ensure long-term sustainability of AMS efforts as part of CwPAMS, we will continue focusing on strategic engagement with national stakeholders. This includes incorporating AMR Action Plans into broader health policies and strengthening national stakeholder involvement in technical resource development. By empowering technical in-country consultants to work collaboratively with key stakeholders, the program aims to develop and promote national AMR advocacy and public engagement campaigns. The HSM represents a significant step towards creating sustainable, locally-driven AMS practices in participating countries. By fostering a network of expertise, promoting continuous quality improvement, and engaging with national stakeholders, the program is laying the groundwork for long-term improvements in antimicrobial use and combating AMR.
Funding disclaimer and Acknowledgements
CwPAMS is funded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care’s Fleming Fund using UK aid and managed by the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association and Global Health Partnerships. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the UK Department of Health and Social Care.
Organisation
Faculty of Public Health/ Ghana Public Health Association
Project title: Strengthening Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) through improving surveillance and building sustainable capacity and capability
Project Overview
This project began in 2019 as a partnership between the Ghana Public Health Association and the UK Faculty of Public Health, funded by a Commonwealth Pharmacists Association grant. Initially implemented at LEKMA Hospital in Accra, Ghana, the project later expanded to a hub-and-spoke model, encompassing LEKMA Polyclinic, Tema Polyclinic, Mamprobi General Hospital, and Adabraka Polyclinic in phase 2, in 2022. The primary goal is to strengthen infection prevention and control (IPC) and promote antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). It focuses on improving hand hygiene, raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and optimising antibiotic prescribing to combat healthcare-associated infections and reduce AMR risks.
Key interventions have included training prescribers, pharmacists, and laboratory professionals, conducting WHO-based IPC assessments, hosting educational workshops, and developing locally applicable standardised antibiotic prescribing guidelines. Surveillance efforts such as the Global Point Prevalence Survey, outpatient pharmacy audits, and knowledge, attitude, and practice surveys provided data on antibiotic use and prescriber behaviours. A delayed prescribing model for upper respiratory tract infections, piloted at LEKMA Hospital, is now being expanded to the spokes. Community engagement ensured AMS practices extended beyond hospitals. This included collaboration with local pharmacies, daily education of patients and families in outpatient departments, and outreach activities in schools, churches, mosques, and markets. Public engagement efforts also included talks on local radio and other media platforms.
Through these initiatives, the project established systems for monitoring, education, and feedback, ensuring sustained IPC and AMS improvements. It demonstrated the feasibility of embedding AMR strategies in low-resource settings while laying a foundation for future quality improvements. Outcomes and lessons learned have been shared with Ghana’s Ministry of Health to support local-level implementation and institutionalisation of change. This partnership highlights the transformative potential of collaborative, data-driven approaches in addressing global AMR challenges.
Impact on tackling AMR
Delayed/Back-up Prescribing:
Initially piloted to reduce antimicrobial prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections, this approach showed that 99% of recruited patients recovered without antimicrobial use. Now a routine protocol, it is being implemented across hospitals in Ghana under Ghana Health Service guidance. Pilot publication link available.
ii. Creation of Centres of Excellence:
a. Collaboration with Ghana Ministry of Health, WHO, and engagement on Ghana National AMR Platform.
b. Institutional focus and behavior changes.
c. Laboratory data entry into WHO GLASS through the national portal.
d. LEKMA Hospital maintained rational antibiotic use scores below regional targets for four years.
e. Development of Antibiotic Adult and Child Prescribing Guide based on British National Formulary and Ghana’s Standard Treatment Guideline.
f. Antibiogram development for LEKMA and Mamprobi Hospitals, with plans to extend to all spokes.
g. Awards: LEKMA Hospital – Ghana Health Service’s “Hospital of the Year” (2021) and AMR Industry Stewardship Award (2022).
h. Participation in BBC AMR Documentary – Race Against Resistance.
iii. Education, Training, and Awareness on AMR and AMS:
a. Training of 435 health professionals and 50 community pharmacists on AMR/AMS.
b. 76 staff trained for Global Point Prevalence Survey.
c. 21 AMR joint ward rounds conducted annually.
d. AMR education in 24 schools and faith organizations, reaching 5,688 people.
e. Improved AMS adherence: wards (73.8% to 86.9%) and OPD (70.9% to 90.9%); missed doses reduced from 44% to 23.2%.
f. Embedded AMR and IPC training for new staff in five facilities.
g. Social behaviour change outreach and development of The Microbe Warrior after-school AMS club.
h. Senior pharmacists and partners recognized globally for AMR contributions, including FPH Fellowships and MSc completions.
Future Development
Strong relationship, engagement, and institutionalised link have been forged with the Ministry of Health in Ghana, to inform, support national action plans and initiatives. There is also agreement in principle from senior Ghana MOH colleagues that AMR needs to be mainstreamed into existing funding.
Hub and Spokes leadership have demonstrated commitment to sustain and further develop education in schools and communities.
AMS Clubs – AMS Club Book (The Microbe Warrior) to be rolled out to more schools and integrated into schools’ curriculum with the support of the local health Directorate.
Community durbar led by the Ghana Public Health Association working with the local Public Health Directorate to create awareness.
Further publications to share learning on implementing and sustaining AMS/AMR interventions in low and middle income countries. Once final report is submitted, the partnership hope to publish the findings in a peer reviewed journal.
Review treatment guidelines in the participating hub and spokes to ensure guidance remains evidence based and to monitor adherence.
Develop infographics on AMR that can be used to disseminate core AMS messages across local populations with varying levels of literacy.
Establish an IPC virtual community to exchange learning between UK and Ghana, for example webinars, virtual meetings, support with SOPs and guidance.
Already, there is a planned webinar on decontamination which will held in January 2025.
Organisation
Makerere University School of Public Health, Uganda
Project title: Centre of Excellence on Antimicrobial Stewardship in Central Uganda
Project Overview
The Commonwealth Partnership for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS) 2 aims to expand and ensure sustainability of Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) efforts in Uganda. The main implementing partners of the project are: Nottingham Trent University (UK), Makerere University (Uganda), Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (UK), Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital, (Uganda), and the Ministry of Health (Uganda). The objective of the project is to scale-up interventions on AMS in Central Uganda using a One Health approach with a focus on capacity building, mentorship, and knowledge transfer. In addition, this project has focused on enhancing the capacity of the health workforce on AMS and promoting the utilisation of microbiology and prescribing data to inform clinical decisions.
The project employs the hub and spoke model, involving UK and Uganda professionals from the domains of human health, animal health and the environment. Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital serves as a hub, mentoring seven lower health facilities (Nakaseke Hospital, Gombe Hospital, Nakawuka Health Centre III, Kasanje Health Centre III, Bussi Health Centre III, Zzinga Health Centre II and Nsaggu Health Centre II) in AMS in Uganda. Activities to promote and improve AMS include: AMS assessments, point prevalence surveys (PPS), development of local AMS action plans; AMR awareness and AMS training to enhance the capacity of health practitioners and Community Health Workers (CHWs); microbiology and AMS workshops to strengthen links between laboratory staff and clinicians; and the establishment and / or strengthening of functional and effective medicines and therapeutics committees (MTCs) / AMS committees to drive the local AMS action plans. Bi-directional visits between the UK and Uganda have led to a greater understanding of AMR as a global issue and a greater appreciation of the different strategies employed to engage healthcare workers and the community in providing solutions to this.
Impact on tackling AMR
- AMS training workshops have been conducted among 323 health practitioners in Nakaseke, Butambala and Wakiso districts, and 531 CHWs in Wakiso district in Uganda. The training covered several topics including AMR, AMS, One Health, Infection Prevention and Control, substandard and falsified medicines, as well as Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI). Evaluation of trained health workers and CHWs has indicated improved knowledge on AMS and prescription practices.
- Point Prevalent Surveys (PPS) have been conducted across the 8 facilities with in-patient data for the 3 hospitals and out-patient data for the 5 health centres captured. Findings from the GPPS have been disseminated to the respective facilities through workshops which have informed AMS interventions. For example, following the workshops, one of the hospitals reduced the unnecessary use of injectable antibiotics among their patients.
- All the 8 health facilities have been supported to develop AMS action plans. These plans are being used to guide the MTC and AMS committees on their day-to-day activities. For example, one of the health facilities has established a WhatsApp group that enhanced communication on AMS, while other facilities are organising routine Continuing Medical Education (CME) sessions among their staff that are increasing knowledge on AMR and AMS.
Future Development
The partnership is planning to scale-up project activities to more health facilities in Uganda (hospitals and health centres), as well as training more CHWs and holding community awareness campaigns on AMR and AMS within various parts of the country.
Organisation
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
Project title: University Hospitals Dorset in partnership with Lira, Northern Uganda, to Integrate Antimicrobial Stewardship, Infection, Prevention and Control and Microbiology Services
Project Overview
The iAIMS Project (integrated AMS + IPC + Microbiology Services) is part of CwPAMS2 (Commonwealth Partnerships for Antimicrobial Stewardship), a collaboration between THET (now: Global Health Partnerships) and the CPA (Commonwealth Pharmacists Association). The project works to tackle AMR at the Lira Regional Referral Hospital in Northern Uganda whilst improving knowledge and practice around AMS within NHS and Ugandan healthcare workers. The iAIMS team includes Dr Pasco Hearn, UK Lead and Infection Consultant from University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) NHS Foundation Trust, and Dr Francis Kiweewa, Uganda Lead, Consultant Physician and Head of Internal Medicine in Lira. The project runs over 21 months, coordinated by three stream leads for Microbiology, AMS and IPC. Activities include: Expansion, closer regulation and quality improvement within Microbiology; Monthly lab-clinician engagement meetings; Local antibiogram production; Data sharing via WHO NET, contributing to national AMR database; Incorporation of antibiogram data as part of pharmacy procurement and local antimicrobial guidelines, ensuring availability/selection of most appropriate IV and oral antibiotics; Creation of Antimicrobial Guardians to monitor and encourage good AMS practice, answering to the AMS Subcommittee; Creation of IPC Champions to monitor and encourage good IPC practice, feeding into the IPC Subcommittee; “Training the trainer” workshops in Micro/AMR/AMS/IPC developed and rolled out; Subsequent Educational Package repeatedly delivered to hospital healthcare workers and to those of surrounding regional healthcare facilities; Data collection, looking at PPS and prescribing behaviour; Funding of the AMS stream to complete Leadership Fellowship; IPC monitoring of Hand Hygiene, environmental cleaning and waste management commenced; Three stream leads visited UHD NHS Trust for two weeks, observing healthcare delivery, focussing on managing the threat of AMR in a very different setting; Education of patients/carers/family; Community engagement using local radio talk shows; Behavioural training, using the COM-B model to inform ongoing action plans, such that activities embed and continue.
Impact on tackling AMR
Microbiology Services at Lira Regional Referral Hospital now alert clinical teams to results, and if a particularly resistant organism is found, they will contact an IPC Champion and an AMS Guardian. This will ensure patient isolation, as much as is possible, and increased monitoring of key IPC measures such as hand hygiene for the duration of their admission. In addition, the AMS Guardians will review antimicrobial prescribing according to the result and will prompt IV to oral switch when appropriate, to ensure optimal patient management.
Microbiology data is feeding directly into the development of the National AMR database, but also into the development of local antimicrobial guidelines and into the pharmacy procurement cycle such that cheaper IV and, more recently, oral antibiotic options that are known to be effective, can be selected to allow the limited budget to stretch further, provide effective options for longer and support key AMS messaging around IV to oral switching in a timely manner.
IPC Champions are improving the knowledge base of healthcare workers around key areas such as hand hygiene, environmental cleanliness and waste management, using roll out of an educational package, frequent reminders and monitoring of behaviour. Their action plan, informed by training in behavioural change psychology, feeds into the IPC Subcommittee, ensuring that IPC practice within each clinical area is monitored and fed back to the whole in order to celebrate success and encourage better practice throughout.
Future Development
The main work of the project will continue, monitored by active committees within Lira Regional Referral Hospital. Links with healthcare workers at UHD NHS Foundation Trust will continue through Poole Africa Link, a charity that forms a THET-endorsed Global Health Partnership with Lira. Should funding for further activities become available, the Uganda lead and main stream leads work within an organisation called SICRA (Strengthening Institutional Capacity for Research Administration) and further project work will expand into providing more community outreach work with members of the public; there will be more emphasis of the detection of substandard and falsified antibiotics; a greater emphasis on a One Health approach, engaging with veterinary groups and local farming communities in order to discuss issues around AMR and how AMS can mitigate against the risks involved.
Organisation
BCUHB/PHASOM
Project title: Malawi/Wales Pharmacy Antimicrobial Stewardship Project
Project Overview
We are a pharmacy led partnership between pharmacy professionals throughout Malawi and Wales.
Lead by Pharmaceutical Society of Malawi (PHASOM and Welsh Antimicrobial Pharmacy Group (WAPG) hosted though Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board as the UK NHS lead partner.
The focus of the case study is our activity in Malawi and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). This project aims to share good practice between pharmacy professional in Malawi and Wales and train healthcare professionals (HCPs)in Malawi to understand the threat from AMS and implement AMS activities in their healthcare institutions. The partnership also gathers prescribing data for the hospitals to see their practices and see the improvements made. This is done through the Global Point Prevalence Survey (GPPS).
PHASOM and WAPG have volunteers who coordinate and run the programme throughout Malawi. We are training HCPs in 7 hospitals in Malawi. All tertiary and referral hospitals in Malawi: Kamuzu Central (KCH), Mzuzu, Zomba and Queen Elizabeth (QEH) hospitals along with 3 district hospitals, Mchinji, Ntcheu and Dedza using the hub and spoke model with KCH as the hub. A training toolkit was developed by volunteers from PHASOM and WAPG on AMS for the staff in those facilities.
The pharmacy teams will train the AMS committees in each of the hospitals to ensure AMS is an embedded programme that is monitored and driven forward. Then aim to run the GPPS before and after training HCPs in the 7 hospitals. To date we have run the GPPS
Funding for this project in 2 years. The team successfully ran the CwPAMS 1.5 project for one year in 2 hospitals from 2021-2022 training 120 HCPS. This CwPAMS 2.0 project runs from April 2023-March 2025.
The team to date has trained all AMS committees in the 7 hospitals, having supported their set up, chairs and terms of reference for those groups. They have also ensured they are embedded in the hospital management teams. They have trained 420 HCPs across Malawi and are currently repeating the GPPS to measure the impact.
To launch the partnership the core members of the partnership from WAPG attended a launch event and visited all 7 facilities in Malawi. This was the beginning of the bidirectional learning throughout the partnership. In June 2024 5 pharmacists from Malawi visited several hospitals, a GP surgery and community pharmacies in Wales and experienced AMS ward rounds, MDTs, a meeting with the director of RPS Wales and representatives from Cardiff University giving guidance on how to approach publishing the work.
Impact on tackling AMR
Over 400 healthcare professional throughout Malawi trained in AMS in 7 hospitals in all regions of the country. Training have been held in 3 hub sites as the tertiary hospitals in Malawi, with a hub and spoke model with spokes being district hospitals in the area.
AMS committees in all 7 hospitals now formed and trained in AMS and AMR and delivery of an AMS programme.
Pharmacy professionals leading the way as experts in AMS in Malawi, including publishing our work and shared bidirectional learning.
Future Development
We plan to roll out further to more spoke sites including community hospitals and private and charitable funded hospitals. We are working with the Fleming fund site (microbiology upgrades) to ensure healthcare professional at those sites are also trained and we share resources and expertise.
Organisation
Royal College of Pathologists/Swansea University Medical School
Project title: Royal College of Pathologists’ Global Antimicrobial Resistance Webinar Series
Project Overview
Our project was the RCPath Global Antimicrobial Resistance Webinar Series which the College led in collaboration with AWARE and WAPG.
In this webinar series, aspects of antimicrobial resistance and stewardship were explored with speakers from around the world. Each webinar started with a UK speaker providing an introduction to the topic and the UK perspective, then international speakers provided the perspective from their respective countries. Speaker were drawn from Australia, Canada, Cuba, Egypt, Hong King, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Qatar, Sri Lanka and UAE. Following the presentations, there was a Q&A sessions for the audience to ask questions and share experiences. Webinars were designed to be interprofessional, free of charge to attend and all speakers were remunerated.
In total there 1332 attendances across the series by nearly 600 individual attendees, from over 30 countries. Feedback showed that the international perspective and international speakers particularly valued. The recorded webinars are freely available, hosted on RCPath website. The project resulted in creation of global AMS connections and aligned with with UKNAP theme ‘Being a good global partner’.
These international webinars will continue to be developed in future, and Suggestions for topics for future AMS webinars were collected from attendees.
Impact on tackling AMR
1332 attendances across the series by nearly 600 individual attendees, from over 30 countries.
The recorded webinar series is freely available, hosted on the RCPath website, for healthcare professionals across the world to access in their own time, answering the need for educational resource for some countries.
The project resulted in creation of global AMS connections and aligned with with UKNAP theme ‘Being a good global partner’.
Future Development
This is the second collaboration and webinar series from RCPath International Team, AWARE Wales and WAPG. Possible topics for a further series, suggested by delegates at our collaborations, include:
Applying laboratory stewardship in clinical practice
Antimicrobial stewardship and surgical prophylaxis
How to formulate and implement policy on AMS at a national level
Surveillance and analysis of data
Antimicrobial Use and Consumption calculations
Organisation
East Central and Southern Africa Health Community
Project title: The East Central and Southern Africa Health Community and the Antibiotic Guardian Campaign: Advocacy for workable policies.
Project Overview
Context:
The East Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC) is an intergovernmental organization whose mission is to foster regional collaboration for better health. ECSA-HC has taken the initiative to spread the regional and global Antibiotic Guardian campaign among its nine member states and beyond by utilizing national and regional forums. This has played a crucial role in advancing actionable policies throughout the region and increasing awareness.
The How
1. Regional Advocacy:
The Antibiotic Guardian has been adopted to raise awareness of and encourage individual and group commitment and responsibility at important national and regional AMR events, such as the 14-country regional Antimicrobial Stewardship Meeting held in Nairobi in 2023.
In conjunction with national AMR Coordinating Committees and the Fleming Fund CWPAMS project ECSA-HC supported AMR awareness programs in line with the WAAW involving a range of groups, including the community, public health experts, students, and policymakers.
2. Policy Development:
To strengthen broad commitment by leadership and health ministers in charge of formulating policy, ECSA-HC, with the Africa CDC, used the Antibiotic Guardian pledge to foster regional cooperation as demonstrated at the 73rd Health Ministers Conference, which adopted AMR resolutions for the member states prior to the UNGA HLM on AMR in 2024 and health ministers present signed the Antibiotic Guardian Pledge Card as a sign of commitment.
3. Capacity Building and Training:
Leveraging the CWPAMS project, ECSA-HC and the Ministry of Health Kenya conducted workshops for AMS teams and students to improve stewardship practices and IPC. Commitments to change practice in two hospitals in Kisii and Nairobi counties pledged using the Antibiotic Guardian.
4. Multi-Sectoral Collaboration:
Kisii and Nairobi Counties in Kenya leveraging the CWPAMS project , promoted the One Health approach, establishing joint committees and emphasizing collaboration across the sectors jointly signed the Antibiotic guardian pledge card.
Impact on tackling AMR
- Impact on Regional Policies.Under the leadership of the ECSA-HC director general, Regional Antimicrobial Stewardship Guidelines were revised and the Antibiotic guardian pledge card signed during the workshop attended by over 70 participants from 14 countries in the region. The guidelines were later adopted in multiple member states.
During the 73RD health ministers conference, AMR resolutions were adopted and commitments from governments for AMR-initiatives made at a regional and national level with the pledge card being signed by minsters present and country heads of delegation.
Through the CWPAMS project, two multisectoral committees were established (County Antimicrobial Stewardship Interagency Committees for Kisii and Nairobi). Commitments for Kisii County were pledged using the Antibiotic guardian. - Stakeholder Engagement:
Over 300 Antibiotic Guardian pledges collected across the region in two years, demonstrating high levels of public and professional commitment to raising awareness. - Increased Awareness:
Engagement of hospital AMS Committees, National level policy makers, youth, students and grassroots organizations such as cyclists through targeted antibiotic guardian campaigns and community events especially during the WAAW commemoration.The Antibiotic Guardian campaign has been instrumental in advancing policy, advocacy, and awareness of AMR in the ECSA-HC region. By leveraging this initiative, member states have had an opportunity to pledge and make significant strides in promoting responsible antimicrobial use, developing robust policies, and engaging communities. These efforts provide a strong foundation for commitment to sustainable AMR containment in the region.
Future Development
Use data from Antibiotic Guardian pledges to monitor commitment and guide interventions.
Expand the Antibiotic Guardian campaign to include additional sectors, such as agriculture and environmental health.
Strengthen monitoring and evaluation frameworks to measure the long-term impact of advocacy and awareness efforts.
Foster regional knowledge-sharing platforms to replicate successful strategies across ECSA-HC member states and beyond.
