Innovate4AMR 2019
Innovate4AMR in Geneva
Innovate4AMR is an online competition looking for innovative and creative solutions that will help address the issues of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) from a systems change perspective. Innovate4AMR encourages competitors to focus on tackling antimicrobial stewardship in low-resource healthcare settings, with the specific objectives of increasing access and reducing inequities of antibiotic use, both overuse and lack of access.Their solutions should carefully factor in the existing AMR and health landscape of a given geographic area. Solutions should take into consideration the strategic set of actors to move the issue. The proposed solutions should be financially sustainable with the potential for real-world adoption, scale-up, and strong likelihood of achieving a lasting impact. Student teams are encouraged to involve multiple disciplines, including but not limited to medicine, public health, engineering, food consumption, supply chain, business management and finance.
For the second year, ten finalist teams for the competition have been invited to Geneva for a capacity building workshop and for three days of intense mentorship with WHO experts during World Antibiotic Awareness Week 2019.
Meet the Teams
Team C2 - Project Njamakuli
The team of two recent Australian medical graduates aims to tackle skin and soft tissue infections that cause heavy antibiotic use in rural and remote Indigenous communities of Australia. Their project, the ŋamakuli program is a regionally-coordinated, mobile van-based community skin infection program for remote Indigenous communities in the Top End of Australia. Members: Christina Guo, Charlotte O’Leary
Team Pharmalinks - Project PharmLinks: Medicines Retailing Solution
PharmLinks draws on its team’s diverse backgrounds (students of medical, pharmacy and also computer science) to target the private sector supply of Pharmaceutical Products in Tanzania where there is Limited data about supply of the Pharmaceutical products. Their idea is to create a pharmaceutical supply chain Platform that links Suppliers & Importers of Pharmaceutical products to Retail Pharmacies, Drug Outlets, Private labs & Private Health Facilities. This will allow monitoring the trends of medicines flow Members: Frank Edward Arabi, Castory Gabriel Munishi
Team Pill-Alert - Project Pill Alert
The team consists of two Medical students from South Africa. They have designed an innovative approach using cell-phone based technology to send automated alerts via text messages (SMS) to remind patients to take their medication on time. This mobile health (mHealth) intervention seeks to improve patient compliance to treatment, thereby significantly reducing Antimicrobial Resistance. Members: Kapil Narain, Mohamen Hoosen Suleman
Team Blue Eagles - Project APLAYA: A Compliance and Surveillance Application for Gonorrhea
The team consists of five Filipino third-year students pursuing joint MD-MBA degrees who aim to tackle the issue of resistant Gonorrhea by creating a mobile application, APLAYA. The project takes an mHealth approach to improve the monitoring and surveillance of pharmacologic therapy for multiple drug resistant gonorrhea infections among Filipinos in low-resource settings. Members: Kenneth Amora, Cyrene Geneve Manansala, Shirley Nicole Apolonio, Nadine Sofia De Guzman, Kristine Ara Renolayan
Team amRx—Project amRx: Powering Evidence-based Prescription for Everyday Practice
In accordance with a personalized approach to medicine, amRx will serve as a decision-support tool for evidence-based prescription of antibiotics where existing guidelines are non-existent, lacking or maladaptive. AmRx consists of two parts: a neural-network enabled backend and a mobile/web app interface. This data could be better utilized to provide individualized suggestions to antibiotic regimens, based on the predicted causative organism. Members: Xi Agnes Yip Pei, Yui Hei Augustine Luk, Yik Sum Li
Team SNARE- Project SNARE: Student National Action on Antimicrobial Resistance
Student National Action on Antimicrobial Resistance (SNARE) is developed by three pharmacy students to address issues revolving around education on AMR in Indonesia. It centers on improving access and equity on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) education. SNARE hopes to also build awareness in youth by encouraging university students’ involvement in executing essential government programs. Members: Asvinigita Luh Rai Maduretno, Diva Ekananda Shinta, Najogi Sitinjak Ris Heskiel
Team ART-IPA—Project: The “ART-IPA” Initiative
This inter-professional and international team aims to reduce inappropriate antimicrobial prescriptions in Indian Primary Health Centers while increasing awareness among doctors and patients regarding AMR and optimal practices. Their solution is patient education and engagement through an interactive arts initiative and the training of doctors in optimal AMR practices. Members: Ave Pold, Brian Li Han Wong, Marine Delagrange, Mark Poulsen Khurana
Team AS - AMRaware
The project which is by two pharmacy students from Indonesia, tackles the problem of the general public’s unawareness regarding antimicrobial resistance. The team hopes to build a team of people that will run a social media account that aims to provide information, stories, and tips regarding antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance. This will aim to inform and educate the Indonesian youth about AMR. Members: Salma Aulianisa, Abykhair Muhammad
Team Batibot - Project ANTIBIOTXT: An Outpatient SMS-based Active Monitoring and Adherence System for Antibiotic Misuse Reduction
The proposed solution combines multiple strategies to combat inappropriate use in outpatient settings resulting in an efficient, cost-effective, and accessible digital active monitoring and adherence system (AntibioTXT). AntibioTXT will utilize short message service (SMS) as a tool to: (1) increase patient adherence to antibiotic regimen; (2) enable doctors to delay antibiotic prescribing; (3) directly educate patients on AMR; and (4) generate standardized and accurate data of antibiotic use. Members: Jhon Woodrow Ramos, Justine William Duran, David Marco Bildan, Felicitas Asuncion Elago, Polychase Magaoay
Team SAVE—ProjectSAVE: System for Antibiotic Vigilance and Equity
The team consists of medical students from Sichuan University that aim to monitor and catalogue antibiotic usage across China, provide cost-effective yet expedited access in rural areas, and to be a source of information for AMR and antibiotics use. Their solution: the SAVE Mini-Program aims to combine two prominent apps in China (WeChat (social media) and Taobao (e-commerce) and integrate them with existing Hospital Information Systems across China. Members: Haoning Peng , Arjudeb Mukherjee , Shavin Avichalya Keragala, Saritha Lawanga Herath
