Pharmacists as Champions in Tackling Substandard and Falsified Medicines
How CPA SFMeds Champions raise awareness of AMR across Africa
World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) and Fight the Fakes Week are global initiatives coordinated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Fight the Fakes Alliance, respectively. These campaigns aim to raise awareness of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), promote responsible antibiotic use, and highlight the dangers posed by substandard and falsified medicines (SFMeds). In November and December 2025, as part of our SFMeds and Community workstreams under the Commonwealth Partnerships for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS) programme, pharmacist SFMeds and Community ‘Champions’ across sub-Saharan Africa took centre stage and led targeted campaigns against SFMeds – a critical driver of AMR.
Building on the knowledge and skills gained as well as the confidence renewed through CPA’s structured training programme, 25 Champions translated their learning into action, planning, delivering, and sustaining impactful interventions across Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. These pharmacist-led campaigns were multi-faceted, combining professional training, community engagement, public awareness, and digital advocacy to strengthen antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), improve medicine safety, and empower local populations to take action against SFMeds. In addition, the Community SFMeds Champions focused their campaigns on community pharmacists and pharmacies, driving a novel movement to tackle AMR and SFMeds directly at the point of care.
In this feature, we highlight the achievements of five exceptional Champions who demonstrated outstanding leadership, innovation, and commitment during WAAW and Fight the Fakes Week 2025…
Dr Godfrey Anyembe (Community Champion, Kenya)
Kakamega County continues to face significant challenges related to AMR, and much of it is driven by the circulation of SFMeds. Limited public awareness makes it difficult for community members to recognise poor-quality medicines or understand their risks, while many remain unaware of how – or where – to report suspected cases. At the same time, healthcare professionals often lack adequate training to identify and act upon SFMeds, weakening the frontline defence against AMR and undermining medicine safety across the county.
Dr Anyembe focused on multi-platform engagement, reaching health professionals and the general public:
- Training: 150+ pharmacists, doctors, nurses, and pharmaceutical technologists trained on SFMeds identification and reporting.
- Community pharmacy engagement: 25+ community pharmacies participated, linking them to regulatory reporting pathways.
- Survey on SFMeds: Conducted in community pharmacies to better understand local challenges in ensuring the quality of medicines.
- Public awareness walk: 2,000+ people engaged, delivering AMR and SFMeds messaging.
- Faith-based outreach: Engaged a church congregation to promote safe medicine use.
“Antimicrobial awareness activities create immediate impact by equipping people with the knowledge and actions that protect lives today and preserve the power of antibiotics for tomorrow.”
Olayinka Adeyemi (Community Champion, Nigeria)
In Nigeria, unregulated medicines, particularly antibiotics, are a continual challenge. Many individuals purchase medicines from street vendors, open markets, bus parks, and hawkers due to convenience and lower costs. These medicines are often stored under poor conditions, such as extreme heat and direct sunlight, which can compromise their quality and effectiveness. Furthermore, unregulated sellers rely on uncontrolled supply chains, increasing the circulation of SFMeds.
In Ibadan, Olayinka delivered a blended campaign combining digital and physical outreach:
- Webinar for community pharmacists: Led a session to around 40 pharmacists on “AMS in Resource-Limited Settings”, highlighting the impact of unregulated drug markets on AMR. Practical solutions such as enforcing prescription-only access to antibiotics and educating communities about safe medicine sources were emphasised.
- Webinars for intern pharmacists: Reached 58 Ogun State and University College Hospital intern pharmacists, delivering sessions on ‘AMS in Clinical Practice: The Role of Young Pharmacists’ and ‘The Role of Pharmacists in Strengthening AMS Programmes’. Participants received practical tools such as the WHO Access, Watch, Reserve antibiotic book and guidance on SFMeds detection.
- Community pharmacy training: Trained a community pharmacy superintendent and staff to identify SFMeds, maintain proper storage, and improve antibiotic dispensing practices.
- Faith-based outreach: Directly engaged members of the community via a church sensitisation talk.
- Social media campaign: Educational posts and campaign highlights shared via Instagram and WhatsApp reached a wider audience beyond webinar participants.
- Public outreach: Engaged over 100 community members at a roadshow through a presentation delivered in the local Yoruba language, emphasising the risks of purchasing medicines from unregulated vendors and the importance of completing prescribed antibiotic courses.
The campaign achieved record engagement on social media, raised awareness at one of Ibadan’s busiest motor parks, and reinforced AMS knowledge and SFMeds detection skills among pharmacists and interns. Key lessons included the importance of early, targeted publicity, the use of local languages for community outreach, and the combination of virtual and physical activities to broaden reach and impact. Practical tools like the AWaRe book also proved highly effective in supporting learning.
“The webinar opened my eyes to the importance of counselling patients properly on antibiotic use.”
Intern pharmacist, Ogun State
Hamidu Rajabu (SFMeds Champion, Tanzania)
Tanzania faces significant challenges with SFMeds, particularly in regions where pharmacy professionals have limited access to structured training on SFMeds detection and reporting. In Kilimanjaro Region, there is a capacity shortfall among both hospital and community pharmacists in the identification, reporting, and prevention of the circulation of poor-quality medicines that undermine antimicrobial effectiveness and patient safety.
In Kilimanjaro Region, Hamidu conducted targeted training for hospital and community pharmacists, combining evidence-based assessment with practical awareness-raising activities. The campaign emphasised building confidence in SFMeds detection and strengthening reporting mechanisms.
- Hospital pharmacist training: 30 hospital pharmacists received structured training with pre- and post-test assessments, demonstrating significant improvement in knowledge from an average score of 55% to 80%.
- Community pharmacist training: 30 community pharmacists participated in awareness events, showing measurable increases in their ability to detect and report SFMeds.
- Educational materials: Flyers explaining SFMeds were distributed to both hospital and community pharmacists to reinforce key messages.
- Social media campaign: Key messages about SFMeds were shared on Instagram, extending reach beyond direct training participants.
The activities demonstrated the importance of inclusive engagement in AMR and SFMeds advocacy. Reaching marginalised groups and the general public is crucial to sustaining nationwide stewardship efforts.
“The activities were highly engaging and interactive, with participants openly sharing their experiences.”
Lukubuya Derrick Jonathan (SFMeds Champion, Uganda)
The interplay of poverty, illiteracy, and a complex supply chain system exposes Uganda’s communities to SFMeds. There is a need to educate both patients and health workers about the sources and dangers of SFMeds to ensure appropriate preventative actions are taken at all stages, ultimately leading to healthier and safer healthcare outcomes.
In rural Mukono district, Derrick focused on interactive, face-to-face campaigns, reaching over 1,700 participants:
- Pharmacy student training: Around 100 students at Makerere University were trained on SFMeds awareness.
- School Outreach in Nakifuma: Around 1,000 primary and secondary students were educated on antibiotic safety and AMR.
- Community pharmacy and health worker training: 130 participants at local facilities trained on SFMeds detection and reporting.
- Public education materials: Posters and wristbands distributed to reinforce messaging across the community.
“I am going to talk to my mother to first take me to the hospital before giving me medicines… I will also tell her to check if the medicine is original.”
Schoolchild, Mukono
Njobvu Neverson (SFMeds Champion, Zambia)
SFMeds represent one of the most urgent and under-recognised drivers of AMR in Zambia. As a major referral hospital in Eastern Province, Chipata Central Hospital serves a large and diverse population where vulnerabilities in the pharmaceutical supply chain, limited public awareness, and high demand for antimicrobials increase the risk of breaches in the quality of medicines. Recognising these challenges, Chipata Central Hospital dedicated the 2025 WAAW campaign to strengthening medicine quality vigilance, upskilling staff, and mobilising the community to take an active role in protecting the effectiveness of antimicrobials and patient safety.
Neverson’s hybrid model combined physical activities, digital outreach, community engagement, and internal system strengthening with an estimated total reach of over 1,000 individuals:
- Official launch ceremony: Introduced WAAW objectives and week-long activities to hospital staff.
- Training: Over 90% of hospital staff participated in sessions covering AMS principles, SFMeds identification, and reporting.
- Community outreach and media engagement: Pharmacists and clinicians appeared on radio talk shows and phone-in sessions, and WhatsApp groups were used to extend awareness to caregivers and community members.
- Internal quality audits: Reviewed procurement, storage, and dispensing systems to identify risk points and develop a corrective action plan to strengthen multidisciplinary team coordination and medicine quality assurance.
- Closing ceremony and recognition: High-performing departments were acknowledged with certificates and tokens to motivate continued engagement.
“WAAW 2025 significantly strengthened our capacity to detect, report, and prevent SFMeds. The campaign empowered both staff and community members, creating a more vigilant environment.”
Key achievements
The 2025 WAAW and Fight the Fakes Week campaigns achieved remarkable impact across healthcare professionals, community members, and vulnerable groups. Collectively, our Champions reached an estimated 6,500+ individuals across seven countries through a blend of face-to-face training, community outreach, and digital advocacy. Over 400 professionals received structured training on antimicrobial stewardship and SFMeds detection, and more than 3,000 community members were engaged through on-the-ground campaigns. The true total is likely far higher, given the wide reach of radio broadcasts and social media campaigns and the large but unquantifiable audience reached through faith-based engagements and hospital-wide sensitisation activities.
- High-level stakeholder engagement: Champions successfully involved senior figures in AMR, including national AMR coordinators, lending authority and visibility to their campaigns.
- Grassroots community outreach: Champions conducted on-the-ground activities, providing practical knowledge on safe medicine use and AMR.
- Professional capacity building: Healthcare workers, pharmacy staff, and students received hands-on training in detecting SFMeds, implementing AMS practices, and using practical tools. Post-training assessments indicated improved knowledge and confidence in medicine quality vigilance.
- Digital advocacy and awareness: Engagement through social media platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook extended the campaigns’ reach far beyond direct participants, amplifying key messages on AMR and medicine safety.
- Community empowerment: Champions engaged young people, persons with disabilities, and community volunteers, fostering ownership and creating local ambassadors for safe medicine practices.
- Adaptability and resilience: Despite challenges such as limited publicity, competing AMS activities, hospital strikes, and resource constraints, champions effectively adapted their plans to ensure the success of their campaigns.
The 2025 WAAW and Fight the Fakes Week campaigns conducted by our Champions demonstrate the critical role of pharmacists as AMR champions in turning back the tide against SFMeds. By combining training, public awareness, and advocacy, these campaigns created lasting community impact, strengthened reporting systems, and reinforced the importance of safe medicine use.
The experiences of these champions offer a model for coordinated, pharmacist-led AMR action across the Commonwealth. With continued mentorship, capacity-building, and multi-platform engagement, pharmacists can protect lives, preserve antimicrobial effectiveness, and foster resilient communities across Africa and beyond.
About CwPAMS and the Fleming Fund
The UK Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)’s Fleming Fund is a UK International Development programme partnering with more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Caribbean to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR),a leading contributor to deaths from infectious diseases worldwide. The Fleming Fund invests in strengthening AMR surveillance systems through a portfolio of country grants, regional grants, and fellowships managed by Mott MacDonald, and global projects managed by DHSC.