Advocacy and civil society

A Germ’s Journey’ is a knowledge exchange (KE) project that offers educational resources, training and research that enables lifelong infection prevention learning. We co-create educational resources and training that recognises varying needs across different age groups and cultures to enable learning for all globally. One solution to the problem of antibiotic resistance is increased education on the importance of appropriate use of these drugs. A key age to introduce this concept is between 7- 11 years. The Germ’s Journey path-finder comic book “A Fight Against Resistance” aims to teach children (7-11 years) about the importance of correct antibiotic use in a fun and interactive way. They key concepts that are included in the book are: the importance of completing courses of antibiotics, not sharing antibiotics with family members or friends and understanding the difference between a virus and bacteria and when antibiotics are required for treatment of an infection. Understanding the importance of these actions from a young age will help in the fight against antibiotic resistance and preserve current antibiotics for future use. In addition to the book, workshops and activities have been designed including origami viruses, cut and stick bacteria and bacteria multiplication games. Currently the Germ’s Journey AMR resources are suitable for English speaking countries however, UN Region specific books are being developed.

Superbugs are a major problem in Tanzania. There are high levels of inappropriate use of antimicrobial medicine in both human and agricultural sectors and a very low awareness of the issue among public, professionals and policy makers. Antibiotics can be purchased widely without prescription, and regulation of community pharmacies is difficult and poorly resourced.

Several studies show levels of resistance are soaring.

But there is hope.

Young Tanzanian pharmacist, Erick Venant, is the founder of the non-governmental organisation RBA-Initiative, which runs ‘AMR School Clubs’ in the Dodoma region of Tanzania. These clubs aim to educate children about superbugs through a set of fun and creative activities so they can bring the message back to their families and communities.

Stop Superbugs is a global health initiative led by the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC). The initiative recognises that good work is already happening all around the world. Practical, local projects driven by passionate volunteers are helping to save lives by promoting good hygiene, education on effective use of antibiotics and providing WASH facilities for communities.