Our 2025 Antibiotic Guardian Awards Nominees: The Prescribing Companion App
Read more about the SPARC Prescribing Companion App and its nomination in the ‘Animal Health, Agriculture and Food Supply’ category
by Charles Mwanje, Project Manager, Prescribing Companion App; Amos Lucky Mhone, Antimicrobial Stewardship Technical Advisor (Animal Health); Kelly Alexander, Antimicrobial Resistance Technical Lead, SPARC; Bridget Kebirungi, Programme Manager, SPARC
The Prescribing Companion App is a key component of our Surveillance and Prescribing Support for Antimicrobial Stewardship Resource Capacity Building (SPARC) programme, providing international and national best-practice guidelines for the appropriate use of antimicrobials at the point of care.
This ensures that frontline healthcare workers across the globe have access to reliable antimicrobial treatment guidelines and surveillance tools even in areas with limited internet connectivity, supporting countries to meet the strategic objectives in the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance. So far, the App has proved to be overwhelmingly successful: it currently has over 100,000 users and, according to a recent feedback survey, 95% of users would recommend it to a colleague.
In addition to its functions in human health, the Prescribing Companion App is believed to be the first core repository of animal health prescribing resources available at the point of care. In many lower- and middle-income countries, efforts to reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR) have focused primarily on human health; in providing this repository of treatment guidelines, the App helps to ensure that veterinarians, farmers and other animal health service providers are empowered to tackle AMR in their communities.
In recognition of its success in this area, the App has been shortlisted at next week’s UK Health Security Agency’s Antibiotic Guardian Awards in the ‘Animal Health, Agriculture and Food Supply’ category.
How does the Prescribing Companion App support animal health workers?
The Prescribing Companion App is open access and accessible to all animal health service providers, such as field veterinarians, agrovet shop attendants and livestock farmers. It plays a key role in embedding AMR as a core component of professional education, training, certification, and continuing professional development in the health and veterinary sectors.
The Global Action Plan on AMR outlines that ‘evidence-based prescribing and dispensing should be the standard of care’. The App works to bring the evidence base to prescribers at the point of care, with features including:
- Country-specific toolkits, which include standardised national and local treatment guidelines for animal (and human) health.
- Key international antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) best practice resources for One Health, human health and animal health in one single location.
- Tools and resources from our SPARC and Commonwealth Partnerships for AMS (CwPAMS) programmes, developed within real-life AMS initiatives, including the CwPAMS Toolkit and the Specimen Optimal Sampling Toolkit.
- Offline functionality of resources once downloaded.
These features empower veterinarians and other animal health service providers by supplying up-to-date, evidence-based antimicrobial treatment protocols for a variety of animal species, helping to combat inappropriate antibiotic use in livestock, pets and wildlife. Additionally, the Prescribing Companion App enhances clinical veterinary decision-making, particularly in remote or resource-limited areas.
Beyond its immediate benefits to animal health workers at the point of care, the App is capable of supporting national veterinary public health goals, such as improved surveillance, more rational antimicrobial prescribing, and reduction in the spread of AMR through the food chain.
Unlike some human healthcare workers, whose ability to prescribe is dependent on the regulations in their country of practice, animal health practitioners are always permitted to administer antimicrobials. Veterinarians and other animal health workers, therefore, are uniquely able to combat AMR in ways not always accessible to pharmacists.
Currently, national animal health guidelines are live on the Prescribing Companion App for both Tanzania and Timor-Leste, with a view to launching in multiple other countries once approval has been granted. Notwithstanding its successes, we continue seeking to improve the App, with the next steps being to improve interactivity to enable further cross-disciplinary knowledge-sharing and incorporate AI-supported enhancements in quality checking and app functionality.
SPARC’s Prescribing Companion App has been shortlisted for the Animal Health, Agriculture and Food Supply award at the 2025 Antibiotic Guardian Awards, taking place in Birmingham, UK on 9th June. Stay up to date with CPA’s channels as we continue to highlight our shortlisted projects in the build-up to the ceremony.
About the authors
Charles Mwanje
Project Manager (Prescribing Companion App), SPARC
Charles is a certified global health programme manager, researcher and social scientist currently studying for a master’s degree in Public Health at the University of Manchester. He has extensive experience in evidence-based public health programme development (including digital health), implementation, and research in low- and middle-income countries.
His strengths lie in his organisational skills, effective communication, and adeptness at navigating complex challenges, which has enabled him to excel in diverse, multi-stakeholder environments.
Amos Lucky Mhone
AMS Technical Advisor (Animal Health), SPARC
Amos is a dedicated veterinary professional with expertise in AMS, veterinary medicine, and policy development. Currently serving as AMS Technical Advisor (Animal Health) in the SPARC programme, he provides technical expertise to enhance stewardship programmes, app development, and resource management across 22 Fleming Fund countries.
Amos’s rich background in veterinary antimicrobial resistance research, project management and stakeholder engagement, alongside his extensive experience in animal health systems in low- and middle-income countries, enables him to foster innovation and capacity-building initiatives to promote sustainable practices in animal health and antimicrobial use.
Kelly Alexander
AMR Technical Lead, SPARC
Kelly has 20 years of experience working in AMS in the UK. Principally working for NHS organisations, she has held lead AMR pharmacist posts within NHS acute trusts and has worked at a system level across primary and secondary care.
Kelly utilises her extensive experience in developing and leading AMS improvement schemes as the AMR Technical Lead for the SPARC programme, having previously led on the development of the CwPAMS programme’s AMS Toolkit.
Bridget Kebirungi
Programme Manager, SPARC
Bridget is a seasoned health professional with a clinical background in nursing and an established track record in programme management. For nearly a decade, she has successfully led the design and implementation of health programmes in low-resource settings, with a particular focus on antimicrobial resistance, non-communicable diseases, and sexual and reproductive health.
Bridget joined the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association (CPA) in 2022, playing a pivotal role as Project Manager for the Prescribing Companion App before being promoted to the role of SPARC’s Programme Manager. Before joining the CPA, she held key roles within Uganda’s Ministry of Health and various non-governmental organisations.
About SPARC and the Fleming Fund
Led and implemented by the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association, the SPARC programme is supported through a grant from the Department of Health and Social Care’s Fleming Fund, a UK aid programme supporting up to 25 countries across Africa and Asia to tackle AMR, managed by Mott MacDonald. The Fleming Fund invests in strengthening data surveillance systems through a portfolio of country grants, regional grants, fellowships and global projects managed by partners.