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AMR Industry Alliance Awards Annual Stewardship Prize to Lekma Hospital in Ghana and the Clinical Engagement Program in Pakistan

Prize recognizes innovative and scalable stewardship programs in low-to-moderate-income countries.

Geneva – December 21, 2022 The AMR Industry Alliance, the leading life-sciences coalition set up to provide sustainable solutions to curb antimicrobial resistance (AMR), is pleased to introduce the winners of its second annual stewardship prize: Lekma Hospital in Ghana and the Clinical Engagement Program in Pakistan, led by DAI. The Alliance’s Stewardship Prize acknowledges both organizations’ innovative approaches to AMR stewardship in their communities, with the goal of helping these organizations further scale their promising practices.

The Alliance is focused on four key areas to combat the spread of AMR: manufacturing, research and science, access, and appropriate use or stewardship. AMR stewardship activities can include collecting and sharing surveillance data with public health or healthcare bodies to improve understanding of resistance trends, developing AMR awareness campaigns or providing continued education for healthcare professionals, and preventing infections by promoting vaccination and reduction of inappropriate use of antibiotics through expanded use of diagnostics.

“Winning the AMR Industry Alliance Stewardship Prize is a great feat for Lekma Hospital, and we are very excited to see that our efforts at fighting AMR have been recognized,” said Dr. Akua Gyimah-Asante, Medical Superintendent at Lekma Hospital. “This prize will be used to finance more campaigns against AMR and equip our microbiology laboratory.”

Lekma Hospital is based in Teshie, part of the Greater Accra region in Ghana. The hospital has adopted Ghana’s National Action Plan to suit the cultural and socioeconomic needs of the people in its community, and as part of that has launched an AMR surveillance program, an AMR awareness campaign drive to promote good stewardship, and AMR capacity building and support for its clinical staff and pharmacists.

“We are very privileged to have been awarded the AMR Industry Alliance’s Stewardship Prize,” said Dr. Qadeer Ahsan, Acting Team Lead for the Clinical Engagement Program in Pakistan. “We have been working with public sector hospitals across Pakistan to initiate the ‘AMR Stewardship’ signature framework. We have planned to use the prize money to further support the technical capacities of the healthcare providers in strengthening ‘AMR Stewardship’ in selected public sector hospitals across Pakistan.”

The Clinical Engagement Program in Pakistan supports the country’s capacity to generate and use the information it needs to combat AMR by providing infrastructure refurbishment, equipment, and consumables for bacteriology, complemented by a rigorous training and mentorship programs. It has driven an increase in laboratory testing for patients, before doctors diagnose and prescribe antibiotics, across the facilities it supports.

Above, an AMR awareness campaign organized by Lekma Hospital. Below, A teaching session on the importance of antibiograms organized by the Clinical Engagement Program.

Teaching session organised on the importance of Antibiograms organised by the Fleming Fund Country Grant Pakistan and Hyatabad

About the AMR Industry Alliance

The AMR Industry Alliance is a coalition of over 100 biotechnology, diagnostic, generics and research-based biopharmaceutical companies and trade associations that was formed to drive and measure industry progress to curb antimicrobial resistance. As the largest life-sciences coalition of its kind, the Alliance aims to provide sustainable solutions in the fight against AMR through broad industry momentum, public-private collaboration and multi-sectoral action.

date 21/12/2022