Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Rwanda
Bear Bad Microbes (BBM) continues from an initial pilot phase and delivers truly iterative and co-designed communications to help community pharmacists in Rwanda engage with their customers and raise awareness of AMR. Pharmacists taking part in the pilot phase were asked for their feedback (qualitative and quantitative) and identified practical and logistical issues with the proto-types. Further design developments working with the wider team resulted in a set of digital materials which were accessible online.
Rwanda Community Pharmacy Union (RCPU) Conference and World Pharmacy Day 2019
On completion of the pilot phase, the study was presented at the RCPU conference and World Pharmacy Day in September 2019. Engagement with the wider pharmacy and healthcare community leaders built stronger relationships and a renewed enthusiasm to develop the programme further and wider to include healthcare centres among the rural communities.
Publication
The project and process in Rwanda is published and available here: Beat Bad Microbes : Raising public awareness of antibiotic resistance in Rwanda
Final thoughts
Remote working across borders to co-design and collaborate on this project set a framework for managing communications well before Covid-19 emerged as a global pandemic.