The seventh Antibiotic Guardian Shared Learning and Awards event was held on 9th June 2025, the shortlisted entries were announced 03 April 2025

 

Keeping the fight against antimicrobial resistance alive and celebrating global achievements

Thursday 12^th June

Photos in collage with thanks to @stevencreamerphotography and Commonwealth Pharmacists Association 

The seventh Antibiotic Guardian awards took place on Monday 9^th June 2025 to share learning and to celebrate the work of healthcare professionals across the UK and worldwide in tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These awards form part of the ongoing Antibiotic Guardian campaign, led by UK Health Security Agency in collaboration with UK devolved administrations and professional bodies.

The Antibiotic Guardian campaign aims to increase commitment and raise awareness among the public as well as human and animal health professionals about how we can slow the development of resistant bacteria and prevent the unnecessary use of antibiotics.

AMR threatens the longevity of modern medicine as without effective antibiotics many treatments, including routine surgeries and chemotherapy, will become increasingly dangerous and currently treatable infections will become difficult or even impossible to treat.

As part of the campaign, groups including students and educators, farmers, families, veterinary, medical, nursing and pharmacy professionals, and local and national organisations can sign up to become Antibiotic Guardians by choosing a pledge on the dedicated website.

This year’s event was conducted as a hybrid event with more than 130 individuals attending in person or online. Applying our learning from hosting the virtual event in 2020, we were also able to live stream the event to allow colleagues who were unable to attend in person to join in the shared learning opportunities and celebration of the fantastic work which is being done to combat AMR.

The event was attended by colleagues based in health organisations across the UK, as well as several international attendees, highlighting the international reach of the Antibiotic Guardian campaign and the dedication worldwide to overcoming this global challenge.

Award categories included Animal Health, Agriculture and Food Supply, Children and Family, Community Communications, Diagnostic Stewardship, Health Student of the Year, Infection Prevention and Control, Innovation and Technology, Multi-Country Collaboration, Prescribing and Stewardship, Public Engagement, Research, and the Das Pillay Memorial Award.  This year, the Tackling Health Inequalities in AMR category was introduced to identify and address health disparities and inequalities, highlighting work that supports the dedicated health inequalities and disparities outcome that has been included for the first time in the 2024-29 UK National Action Plan for AMR.

 

For the first time, the event featured an AMR lecture and panel discussion, adding a new dimension to the shared learning experience. This session included presentations from several leading figures in the field of AMR and AMS. Dr Marisa Holubar (Clinical Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, Stanford University School of Medicine) who spoke on “Antimicrobial stewardship in healthcare: then, now, and what comes next – a North American perspective”, offering reflections on the evolution of antimicrobial stewardship and the dedicated role of infectious disease pharmacists. Professor Bola Owolabi (Director – National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme) highlighted the critical connection between population health equity and health security, emphasising that addressing AMR is fundamental to achieving population health. Dr Fraser Broadfoot (Head of Antibiotic Use and Stewardship, VMD) presented on “Tackling Antibiotic Use and AMR in Animals” highlighting the importance of antibiotic stewardship in maintaining efficacy of existing veterinary medicines and disease prevention. The session concluded with a panel discussion, during which Becky McCall (PhD student, University College London) shared insights from her research on the use of storytelling to communicate AMR, focusing on how to convey complex concepts to the general public in a relatable and engaging way.

 

This year’s MC was Jordan Charlesworth and the awards part of the event opened with a keynote address from honorary guest Professor Isabel Oliver, Chief Medical Officer for Wales. As part of her speech, Prof. Oliver celebrated the dedication and impact of professionals working to combat AMR, highlighting their vital role in safeguarding antibiotics for future generations. Prof. Isabel Oliver, also presented the awards for Prescribing & Stewardship and Multi-country collaborations category alongside Prof. Diane Ashiru-Oredope (Lead for the Antibiotic Guardian campaign, Lead Pharmacist for the AMR & HCAI Division, UK Health Security Agency and Chair for the English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilisation and Resistance).

A powerful speech from a patient representative Miss R about her ongoing battle with a recurrent antibiotic resistant urinary tract infection reminded us of the profound impact AMR can have on individuals and reinforced the importance of patient-centred care in our collective response to AMR.

For the closing address, Dr Colin Brown, Head of Antimicrobial Resistance & Healthcare Associated Infections Division and Deputy Director of theEpidemic & Emerging Infections Directorate at UKHSA, congratulated all those who submitted entries, the award winners and the organisers for making the event a success. He reflected on the value of coming together as a community to celebrate best practice in antimicrobial stewardship, highlighting how collective recognition helps drive progress. Dr Brown also emphasised the importance of including patient voice – particularly the lived experiences of those affected by chronic infections and the consequences of antimicrobial use – as a vital part of the conversation.

Following a judging and peer review process of 75 (including 9 international) entries , winners announced on the night included Arwain DGC and Welsh Lamb & Beef Producers – winners of the Innovation & Technology award for the development of a reporting Antimicrobial Usage (AMU) Calculator tool that measures AMU on livestock farms. Oxford University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust collected the award for best research project for demonstrating the impact of multidisciplinary team  antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) ward rounds on antimicrobial use and hospital stay. The diagnostic stewardship category was won by Commonwealth Pharmacists Association for developing a toolkit of resources to support pre-analytical, quality sampling with a focus on clinical engagement. The public engagement category was won by One Health and Development Initiative in collaboration with the Stop Superbugs Squad for their African Youths for their AMR Communication project which trained youth AMR champions across multiple countries to lead community focused awareness and advocacy campaigns during WAAW 2024.

The Children & Family category was won by East of England Health Protection Operations Team, UK Health Security Agency, for the design and implementation of the “Tools for Schools” communications toolkit that collated a wide range of evidence-based public health resources for use in children and young people  settings. The Infection Prevention and Control category was won by Nakaseke General Hospital Uganda, for their work on engaging hospital cleaners and food vendors to improve their hygiene practices and raise awareness of AMR.

The Community Communications category was won by Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research for their campaign “Not in our lifetime”. The campaign aimed raise awareness about AMR amongst young people (18-29 years old) in the UK and the Ducit Blue Foundation won the Multi-country collaboration category for their work to unite African youth for One Health leadership by tackling AMR across borders through mentorship, innovation and capacity building.

Alongside these, other notable winners were Arwain DGC who received the Animal Health, Agriculture & Food Supply Award for their work to drive action against AMR through a coordinated national approach for livestock and the environment in Wales, and Swansea Bay University Health Board who won the Prescribing & Stewardship award for implementing the National Cellulitis Improvement Programme to reduce cellulitis recurrence and improve antibiotic use across Wales.

The new Tackling Health Inequalities in AMR award was given to the NHS West Yorkshire ICB for their work on developing a to prevent AMR in the Roma population in West Yorkshire. The Health Student of the Year category was won by the Makerere University Antimicrobial Resistance Club for their work in leading impactful youth advocacy and engagement through the establishment of an Antimicrobial Resistance Club.

Finally, the awards also recognise innovation in the field of antimicrobial stewardship at a junior level with the Das Pillay Antimicrobial Stewardship Memorial Award, won by Frimley Health NHS Trust (Dr Miguel Vella, Dr Li Ling Choo, Dr Iram Lodhi). The clinical teaching fellows were nominated for the development of the Micro-Sim programme which delivers targeted education sessions to healthcare professionals and students to improve awareness, education and practices related to antimicrobial use.

A brilliant night celebrating the achievements of organisations and individuals working tirelessly to help combat AMR and protect antibiotics.

 

Prof. Diane Ashiru-Oredope, Lead for the Antibiotic Guardian campaign and Chair for the English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilisation and Resistance, said:

“Last year the Antibiotic Guardian campaign celebrated its 10th anniversary and to date has received over 212,000 pledges from healthcare professionals, students, educators and the public. Since commencing the Antibiotic Guardian Shared Learning and Awards in 2016, we have had a total of 530 entries for the Antibiotic Guardian awards. Since its inception, Antibiotic Guardian has become a global campaign with engagement from over 200 countries worldwide and has now been translated into 11 languages.

The seventh Antibiotic Guardian awards has provided us with an excellent opportunity to recognise and champion organisations and individuals who have demonstrated achievement in their work to tackle AMR. AMR remains an ongoing significant global, public and clinical health threat we face. The Antibiotic Guardian Shared Learning event and awards also embeds shared learning and opportunities for collaborations with poster presentations on the night and videos available on the Antibiotic Guardian shared learning platform www.antibioticguardian.com/shared-learning

These awards continue to highlight the wealth of impactful work taking place across the country and abroad. We received several entries from both human and animal health recognising the importance of the One Health approach required to tackle AMR. We were delighted to continue to receive entries from colleagues outside the UK, highlighting the important global collaborations.

I’d like to personally congratulate all the shortlisted entries and those recognised on the night for their contributions. Your hard work, creativity, and commitment are truly what make this event so special. Thank you for sharing your projects and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. At UK Health Security Agency we will continue to support and work with partners across the human, animal, and environmental health systems to tackle AMR.”

Click here to access Antibiotic Guardian shared learning platform to find out more about the projects 

Click here to view photos from the event

Click here to watch the recording of the lecture and award ceremony

Click to download the AG shared_learning_awards_2025_Digital_Brochure 2

List of Winners, Highly Commended and Commended

Animal Health, Agriculture and Food Supply

Winner: Arwain DGC

• Project title: Arwain DGC – Driving action against AMR: A coordinated national approach for livestock and the environment in Wales.

Highly commended: Commonwealth Pharmacists Association

• Project title: Antimicrobial stewardship in the agriculture and food sector through access to evidence-based animal health guidelines – The prescribing companion app

 

Children and Family

Winner: East of England Health Protection Operations Team, UK Health Security Agency

• Project title: Raising awareness of AMR in children and young people and those that care for them, a multi-method approach in Southend-on-Sea

Highly Commended: Shionogi BV

• Project title: The next generation responds to the superbug crisis

 

Community Communications

Winner: Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research

• Project title: Not in our lifetime

Commended: CPPE

• Project title: Engaging pharmacy professionals in antimicrobial stewardship: A social media campaign for World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2024

 

Diagnostic Stewardship

Winner: Commonwealth Pharmacists Association

• Project title: Diagnostic resource development to aid clinical integration of microbiology services in lower-and-middle income countries

Highly Commended: Cardiff University/Digital Health and Care Wales/ Public Health Wales

• Project title: Building the evidence: What happens when diagnostics support a community pharmacy-led sore throat test and treat consultation?

 

Health Student of the Year

Winner: Antimicrobial Resistance Club, Makerere University, Uganda

• Project title: Youth advocacy and engagement in AMR through establishment of a sustainable antimicrobial resistance club at Makerere University.

Commended: School of Public Health, Makerere University, Uganda

• Project title: Community centred AMR awareness campaign: The maama naka and maama namu project

Commended: International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation

• Global AMR youth summit: Empowering future health professionals to strengthen one health and combat antimicrobial resistance through interprofessional collaboration

 

Infection Prevention and Control

Winner: Nakaseke General Hospital, Uganda

• Project title: Improving infection prevention and control in Nakaseke through engagement of the under looked categories of people.

 

Innovation and Technology

Winner: Arwain DGC/Welsh Lamb & Beef Producers

• Project title: Farming for the future: Calculating livestock AMU to tackle AMR in Wales

Highly commended: Whittington Health NHS Trust

• Project title: Health analytics in OPAT: Using smart data to improve patient outcomes and support stewardship in patients’ homes

 

Multi-Country Collaboration

Winner: Ducit Blue Foundation

• Project title: Uniting African youth for one health leadership: Tackling antimicrobial resistance across borders through mentorship, innovation and capacity building

Commended: 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.

 

Prescribing and Stewardship

Winner: Swansea Bay University Health Board

• Project title: Implementing antimicrobial stewardship through the National Cellulitis Improvement Programme (NCIP) in Wales.

Highly commended: Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

• Project title: UTI Friday: A review of antibiotic prophylaxis in the management of recurrent UTI in primary care

Commended: NHS England (South East Region)

• Project title: Promoting shortest effective antibiotic course lengths for uncomplicated infections (South East region)

Commended: Powys Teaching Health Board

• Project title: Improving the appropriateness of antimicrobial prescribing in dental practice

 

Public Engagement

Winner: One Health and Development Initiative

• Project title: African youths for AMR communication

 

Research

Winner: Oxford University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

• Project title: The impact of antimicrobial stewardship ward rounds on antimicrobial use and predictors of advice, uptake, and outcomes

 

Tackling Health Inequalities in AMR

Winner: NHS West Yorkshire ICB

• Project title: Developing a framework for co-production to prevent Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in the Roma population in West Yorkshire.

Highly Commended: NHS England Antimicrobial Prescribing and Medicines Optimisation (APMO) Team

• Project title: Health and justice antimicrobial stewardship

 

Das Pillay Memorial Antimicrobial Stewardship Award

Winner: Miguel Vella, Li Ling Choo, Iram Lodhi (Frimley Health NHS Trust)

• Project title: Combating resistance through education: Micro-Sim in action

Highly Commended: David Shepherd

• Project title: A novel role –The senior antimicrobial stewardship nurse within community healthcare settings