Alumni Projects
The program incorporates an experiential learning model. Towards completion of the program, participants did a situational review of their local community. The participants also engaged in small AMR projects during the World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2021. This helps them to reinforce the lessons learnt throughout the program. The exposure enables them to gain a holistic understanding of AMR and other contributing factors from a local perspective. With such an approach, the participants are able to design well informed small projects. The best projects were selected by an external review committee and awarded with small grants and technical support to undertake their implementation. The other participants are provided with technical support to refine their projects, and aided in sourcing for potential grant opportunities and organizations who can fund their projects.
Cohort 1 Projects awarded small grants and technical support Group Projects
Research innovation aimed at assessing the Effectiveness of AMR Sensitization using Creative Arts in Nabweru Village, Wakiso District, Uganda
Team Members
- Anastacia Sebbowa
- Martha Nabatanda
- Jacob Michael Othieno
Antimicrobial Resistance and Rational Prescription Practices: Knowledge, Perceptions and Competence of Medical Interns In Uganda
Team Members
- Shamim Nabidda
- Rogers Ssennyonjo
- Joseph Atwaru
- Andrew Marvin Kanyike
Assessment of Disposal Practices Of Expired And Unused Medicines Among Homesteads In Kampala City, Uganda.
Team Members
- Juliet Kharono
- Kajjubi Saddam
- Dankaine Rogers
Individual Projects
Launching Ceremony
The launch of the AMR Leaders Program was held on 16th July 2021. This marked the commencement of the engagement of 92 students from 7 African countries in the pilot program. The session was presided by several high-level guests who congratulated and encouraged the students as they begun the interesting AMR journey.
The guest speakers were:
- Dr. Mirfin Mpundu – Director ReAct Africa.
- Dr. Irene Ouoba – Regional AMR Project Coordinator in Food and Agriculture Organization
- Dr. Letitia Gahimbare – Technical Officer for AMR in World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa
- Dr. Chadia Wannous- Regional One Health Coordinator in World Organization for Animal Health.
- Dr. Yewande Alimi- AMR and One Health Coordinator for Africa CDC.
Please read through the attached report or watch through the recording to learn more about the session.
Group Discussions and Team Activities
After engaging in remote learning, participants usually engage in group discussions and brief group tasks to reinforce the concepts learnt. The groups may be organized in advance prior to the remote learning sessions. In other instances, the members are organized into random groups and discuss various real life case studies in regards to the concepts learnt. This helps to related the theoretical learning with the day-to-day local realities and strengthen the ability of the participants to related and ideate practical solutions to existing AMR challenges.
Random arrangement helps to develop the participants networking skills to relate with anyone in the program. It also helps them to take up spontaneous roles nourishing their ability to lead and take up responsibility in different situations.
AMRLEP COHORT I THEMATIC TOPICS AND ACTIVITIES
Group Discussions on “The Silent Tsunami” AMR Short Course
The participants of the program begin their program by partaking an AMR Short course, “The Silent Tsunami” developed by the ReAct. This happens in the first month of the program. The course is comprehensive but easy to understand. This provides a strong foundation for the participants. They are equipped with basic knowledge on AMR so that it is easier for them to engage in depth in the latter parts of the program.
The short course is complimented by periodic group discussions and peer presentation sessions to help the participants share their key takeaways from the course and facilitate exchange of knowledge and ideas developed after pursuing the course. The students are also offered small theoretical and practical assignments to gauge their understanding of the course and help them relate the theoretical concepts with real life experiences.
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/8I1fAPrjrZo
AMR National Action Plans
This was an intensive session that culminated the weekly remote reading. Before the session, the global action plan, national action plans (NAPs) for different countries in Africa, relevant policy documents, and other guiding materials were availed to the participants. The participants engaged, reviewed the materials for a period of two weeks guided by a module developed and periodic conversations in the communication platforms.
The learning culminated with a webinar from Dr. Evelyn Wesangula, National Focal Point for AMR in Kenya, and Dr. Mirfin Mpundu, Director for ReAct Africa. The two have expansive experience in the development and implementation of the AMR National Action Plans within the African continent. The session focused on the progresses and challenges encountered in formulation and implementation of NAPs in Africa. Following the exposure, the speakers and the students discussed on various roles that the students can effectively play to advance sustainable implementation of the different action addressed in the AMR NAPs in the local countries.
Please read through the attached report or watch the webinar recording to learn more about the session.
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/8I1fAPrjrZo
The short course is complimented by periodic group discussions and peer presentation sessions to help the participants share their key takeaways from the course and facilitate exchange of knowledge and ideas developed after pursuing the course. The students are also offered small theoretical and practical assignments to gauge their understanding of the course and help them relate the theoretical concepts with real life experiences.
To learn more about this methodology, please read through a report for one of the sessions or watch the highlighted recording for the session.
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/8I1fAPrjrZo
One Health Approach in Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance
This involved a mixed-learning approach incorporating remote review of relevant One Health resource materials, webinar session, and a group discussion within a duration of two weeks. The webinar session was graced by Dr. Emmanuel Kabali, AMR Project Coordinator and Technical Support Expert at Food and Agriculture Organization. Dr. Emmanuel shared lessons on the complexity of AMR, especially in low-resource settings in Africa. He offered various case studies in environmental pollution, urbanization, poor biosecurity measures on farming, and broken human health systems showcasing AMR as a multi-prong issue that required intervention from multiple players. He encouraged the participants to identify their niche as early as possible, plan accordingly, invest in themselves, and engage collaboratively while as students and later in their careers to counter the AMR scourge within the African continent.
Drawing insights from the webinar sessions, and knowledge acquired from their resource materials, the students were tasked to discuss and come up with shared findings on various topics, related to the theme of the week.
Some of these topics included:
- Existing barriers on inter-sectoral and trans-disciplinary engagement of stakeholders in AMR.
- Implications of poor waste management by households and pharmaceutical companies and their contribution to AMR
- Effects on intensive farming systems and poor biosecurity measures on food security spread of AMR as well as potential viable intervention to address this.
- Risks of cohabitation and close interaction of human beings in spread of zoonotic diseases and resistant microbes among humans and animals
- Ways in which poorly treated manure contributes to spread of resistant microbes during farming.
- Implications of using anti-bacterials to prevent and manage pest and bacterial infestation among high-value foods such as fruits and vegetables.
Please read through the attached report or watch the webinar recording to learn more about the session.
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/jGKHsV7qYTc
Research and Policy Development in Antimicrobial Resistance
This theme focused on educating the participants on the importance of evidence-based interventions, and development of new knowledge in the field of AMR. The participants delved into the topic for a period of two weeks by reviewing relevant policy documents and research reports in AMR. The resources were shared with them through the Slack and WhatsApp communication channels.
The learning culminated with an expert webinar. The guest for the webinar were Dr. Raphael Chanda, a Clinical Microbiologist at University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka Zambia and Consultant at ReAct Africa, and Dr. Evelyn Gitau, Director, Research Capacity Strengthening at African Population and Health Research Center.
Dr. Evelyn emphasized on the importance of having interventions that are tailored towards addressing the challenges in Africa. She emphasized on the need to improve investment in research within the continent sharing potential opportunities and pathways that the participants could leverage on. She also educated the participants on the key components of an effective public health research.
On the other hand, Dr. Raphael Chanda shared on the key aspects of policy making which were; agenda setting, policy formulation, policy implementation, and policy evaluation. He also shared on the major actors and factors that influence the process, and concluded with encouraging the participants to pursue a career in the field.
Please read through the attached report or watch the webinar recording to learn more about the session.
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/dnUsPT_AaTQ
Design Thinking and Systems Thinking Approach in addressing Antimicrobial Resistance
The activities under this topic focused on exposing the participants to design thinking and systems thinking approaches. The participants reviewed learning materials to improve their understanding of the two concepts. Participants were also organized into groups and tasked to ideate on potential solutions that could be utilized to develop viable interventions for major challenges contributing to the AMR threat. Each group then shared its findings during presentation session. There was also an expert webinar session where the speaker. Ms. Dhyani Parekh,a Design Research Associate at Quicksand Design Studio shared on some successful AMR projects that they had implemented while employing the Systems Thinking Approach.
Please read through the attached report or watch the webinar recording to learn more about the session.
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/1zX_BfF-Q5A
Harnessing Leadership Skills for Sustainable Engagement in Antimicrobial Resistance Prevention Efforts
This session focused on supporting the participants to improve their leadership skills. This was a week-long engagement which culminated with a webinar session graced by two young highly established trail-blazers who were leading social impact organizations. The two, Niniola Williams, and Dr. David Odhiambo head their respective organizations which they founded.
Dr. Odhiambo is the Co-founder and Principal of Ryculture Health and Social Innovation, a social enterprise that focuses on empowering young people. Niniola is the Managing Director of Dr. Ameyo Stella Adedevoh (DRASA) Health Trust. The organization works with government, local and international partners, community leaders, students, and health workers to promote adequate sanitation and hygiene, reduce and prevent the spread of infectious diseases, and strengthen Nigeria’s health security and emergency preparedness.
Dr. David shared with the participants on how to build their personal competencies. He focused on work ethic, personal branding, and etiquette. On the other hand, Niniola educated the participants on how to cultivate effective organizational leadership through team building, and proper communication skills.
Please read through the attached report or watch the webinar recording to learn more about the session.
YouTube link: https://youtu.be/dwm3LBkOK3o
Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) and Sustainable Food Systems
The participants engaged intensively in the two topics, Antimicrobial Stewardship, and Sustainable food systems for a period of two weeks. Participants reviewed the WHO AMR Stewardship Toolkit for LMICS and the WHO Antimicrobial Stewardship short course. The participants also reviewed several reports and news articles on food security informed by research done by World Animal Protection.
The learning culminated with a webinar session featuring Dr. Yara Mohsen and Dr. Victor Yamo. Dr. Yara an Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacist in International Medical Center Hospital in Egypt shared about the major drivers of high antimicrobial consumption in healthcare facilities based on her experience. She leads the Antimicrobial Stewardship program in the hospital. She took the participants through the major steps in developing an Antimicrobial Stewardship plan, and offered insights to contextualize it to the specific facility. Lastly, Dr. Yara highlighted some the benefits gained and challenges experienced in implementing the program.
Dr. Yamo, farming Campaigns Manager at World Animal Protection, shared about the findings of various AMR researches that World Animal Protection had conducted on the last few years in the African continent in the animal health sector. Most of the researches highlighted how intensive farming and biosecurity measures had undermined food security with many food samples tested having resistant microbes. Dr. Yamo talked about various strategies that can be undertaken by various stakeholders in the food sector to avert the crisis.
Please read through the attached report or watch the webinar recording to learn more about the session.
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/U-wT9RbHGTs
Project Management
The participants were engaged on the key aspects of project management. This was a month-long learning with two webinar sessions. The first webinar was an internal one facilitated by the project coordinators. The second webinar featured two expert guests. The first one was Prof. Raphael Nyonje, lecturer at University of Nairobi, and Chairman, International Project Monitoring and Evaluation Society. Prof. Nyonje educated the students on the key items to consider when formulation a project. Some of the topics were; Project Design Charter, Project Objectives, Problem Tree Analysis, fundraising and Theory of Change. He also shared on the monitoring and evaluation process.
The second guest. Dr. Ponnari Gottipati, Co-lead Superheroes Against Superbugs, reinforced Prof. Nyonje lecture by sharing about their AMR school project in India, and how they were able to successfully implement the project while observing best practices in project management. The project management helped equipped them with skills to design, and implement AMR initiatives and projects after completion of the program.
You can watch the ceremony through the YouTube video shared below:
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/vs55kBRHSSE
Graduation Ceremony for Cohort 1
This session marked the completion of Cohort 1 program of the AMR Leaders Program for Tertiary Students in Africa. The ceremony was held on the 3rd of December, 2021 last day of ReAct Africa and South Center Conference.
The distinguished guests for the ceremony were:
- Dr. Mirfin Mpundu, Director ReAct Africa
- Dr. Yewande Alimi – AMR and One Health Coordinator, Africa CDC
- Dr. Chadia Wannous – Regional One Health Coordinator, Organization for Animal Health,
- Dr. Ismaila Kane, One Health and AMR Expert – Public-Private engagement at FAO Regional Office
- Dr. Jane Lwoyero , AMR Technical Officer at the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) , Sub- Regional Representation for Eastern Africa
- Dr. Philip Mathew, Consultant, ReAct Asia Pacific, Assistant Professor of Community Medicine, Kerala, India
Some of the most active students also presented on their experiences in the program, and how it had impacted them. These were:
- Rogers Ssenyonjo (Busitema University Uganda)
- Lucy Gatitu (University of Nairobi, Kenya).
- Polikalipo Kagina (Muhimbili University of Health & Allied Sciences, Tanzania).
- Oluwatosin Ajayi (University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria).
- Kyembe Ignitius Salachi – Copperbelt University, Zambia
- Michelle Mayuba – University of Nairobi, Kenya
92 students successfully completed the program and were awarded with certificates.
Please read through the attached report or watch the webinar recording to learn more about the session.
You can watch the ceremony through the YouTube video shared below:
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/p7yC0elHoyA
