Innovate4AMR: workshop for 11 finalist teams from 9 countries with WHO in Geneva

2018-11-14

During World Antibiotic Awareness Week the online competition Innovate4AMR holds its workshop for finalists with WHO in Geneva. The finalist teams will have the opportunity to meet with health experts and make connections with groups who could help operationalize their proposed solution. There is also potential to have follow-on, technical support of teams through pairing with regional offices and/or civil society organizations if the team proposals align well with these organization’s current work plans.

Innovate4AMR is a global online competition inviting student teams from around the world to design innovative solutions for antimicrobial stewardship in resource-limited, healthcare settings.

“We hope to engage and enlist the next generation of leaders in developing innovative, scalable approaches to address the challenge of conserving existing antibiotics. Those in the healthcare sector have a particularly crucial role to play in finding new solutions,”

said Anthony So, MD, MPA, Director, ReAct Strategic Policy Program and IDEA Initiative, at the initial phase of the competition.

Innovate4AMR asked student teams to propose strategies to tackle the underuse, overuse and misuse of antibiotic prevalent in a range of settings, from hospitals and clinics to outpatient pharmacies. In addressing AMR, student teams working across disciplines have much to contribute in proposing how to redesign the healthcare system.

11 finalist teams from 9 countries – workshop with WHO in Geneva

With over 1000 people signed up for the competition, Innovate4AMR received 145 proposals from student teams around the world. After several rounds of judging, first by an IFMSA-ReAct-WHO Technical Review Panel and then by a panel of Expert Judges, 11 winning teams were selected from Peru, India, Uganda, Honduras, Nigeria, Canada, the Philippines, the USA and China. Students from these teams will have the opportunity to present their proposals at a capacity-building workshop, supported by the World Health Organization and South Centre, in Geneva during World Antibiotic Awareness Week. There, students will attend talks and workshops on antimicrobial resistance, discuss with experts how to make strategic improvements to their innovation, and receive feedback on how best to operationalize their project.

“We are very impressed with the projects the winning teams have come up with and we very much look forward to meeting them in Geneva.  As accomplished student leaders, we believe they have real potential to drive change in the field of AMR,”

says Virginie Marchand, Research Program Coordinator with the ReAct Strategic Policy Program and the IDEA Initiative.

ReAct and the IDEA (Innovation + Design Enabling Access) Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health are teaming up with the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) – representing 1.3 million students from 127 countries – to organize this global competition.