The Commonwealth Pharmacists Association (CPA) is a registered charity working across the Commonwealth supporting the implementation of SPARC, a “Surveillance and Prescribing support for Antimicrobial Stewardship Resource Capacity building” programme delivered in up to 22 Fleming Fund countries, between January – September 2022. 

SPARC builds on the technical expertise of the Commonwealth Partnerships for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS) programme, which the CPA has delivered in partnership with THET since 2018. 

CwPAMS focused on building strong multidisciplinary, quality improvement partnerships across 8 African countries and successfully launching an antimicrobial prescribing smartphone App and surveillance of antimicrobial use via the Global Point Prevalence Survey (GPPS). 

Funded by the Fleming Fund, the CPA is now delivering an extension of the CwPAMS programme through SPARC across 22 countries in Africa and Asia. 

In response to the growing global antimicrobial resistance, the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association (CPA) brought together 5 countries to Entebbe, Uganda, on the 25th and 26th of April 2022. 

Each country was represented by one in-country consultant and five site champions from the five facilities where SPARC will be implemented. 

The site champions were equipped with knowledge and skills to facilitate data collection for Global Point Prevalent Survey (PPS) to be conducted in five different Health facilities in Malawi (Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Zomba Central Hospital, Mzuzu Central Hospital, and Rumphi District Hospital).  

GPPS provides a methodology to support hospitals worldwide in collecting antimicrobial-usage data. The teams were also trained in behavioral change in antimicrobial stewardship and introduced to prescribing SPARC app. 

Violet had the best summary after the training in Uganda “After over 2 long years of lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, it was refreshing to travel and have physical meetings in Uganda. During the trip to Uganda, the expectations were that the Malawi team would be challenged by best practices from other countries and challenged by advancements from other countries, but it was very encouraging also to learn that most challenges faced by Malawians are common across the globe. This realization has rekindled the fire to face the challenges with a changed mindset and an awareness that the same challenges are faced elsewhere and are successfully overcome.”

The best practices shared by the teams from across the nations generated new capabilities, motivation, and opportunities in combating antimicrobial resistance across Africa. The interactions and new partnerships formed during the meeting have already begun a community of practice where ideas are shared, problems are discussed, and collaborations are formed to combat AMR.

Felix had this to say “I believe that the meeting and training in Uganda is a game-changer for the fight against AMR because it has brought the necessary excitement in the teams, and the community of practice formed will be a pool of knowledge sharing to combat AMR.”