Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is one of the largest global health threats facing humanity, as misuse and overuse of antimicrobials has driven the development of drug-resistant pathogens.

As drug resistance spreads globally, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines are becoming ineffective, making it increasingly difficult or impossible to treat infections. If we do not take action, everyday medical procedures, including caesarean sections or hip replacements, and cancer chemotherapy, will become more risky.

The Commonwealth Partnerships for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS) programme aims to leverage the expertise of UK health institutions and technical experts to strengthen the capacity of the national health workforce and institutions in Commonwealth countries, to address AMR challenges.

As part of this programme, KGHP and our long-term partners in Sierra Leone – Connaught Hospital and the Young Pharmacists Group – will co-deliver a six-month project to:

• Develop an AMS committee at Connaught Hospital, by establishing governance structures and processes, creating a three-year action plan, and overseeing initial activities, including a Global Point Prevalence Survey of Antimicrobial Consumption and Resistance (GPPS), and raising awareness of AMR and AMS within the hospital and local community.
• Deliver an accredited AMS training programme for 10 early-career pharmacists, who will participate in AMS activities at Connaught, in order to share and implement their learning in other hospitals.

AMS specialist pharmacists from across King’s Health Partners’ NHS Trusts will provide remote support to the project, teaching and mentoring AMS champions on the training programme, and sharing their expertise in developing AMS processes with the AMS committee at Connaught.

Call for engagement

King’s Health Partners’ Pharmacy colleagues interested in providing remote support to this project, please get in touch directly with the UK Specialist Pharmacist for the Sierra Leone AMS project, Navjeet Nagi, King’s College Hospital: navjeet.nagi@nhs.net

*CwPAMS is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care using UK aid funding and is managed by the Fleming Fund. The Fleming Fund is a GBP 265 million UK aid investment to tackle antimicrobial resistance by supporting low- and middle-income countries to generate, use and share data on AMR. The Fleming Fund programme is managed by the UK Department of Health and Social Care. The CwPAMS programme is managed by the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association and the Tropical Health Education Trust (THET). The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Department of Health and Social Care, the NHS, the represented NHS Trusts, CPA or THET.