Webinar 2: How do we use our voices to reach a wider community for AMR?

On 29 August 2024, EPF and The AMR Narrative hosted a second webinar to provide a platform for dialogue and connection between patient groups and stakeholders to encourage advocacy efforts on AMR.

Watch the webinar recording here.  

Speakers: 

• Francesca Chiara, Chair of the Board of Trustees, The AMR Narrative
• Claudia Louati, Head of Policy, EPF 
• Pernilla Rönnholm, Patient survivor, Founder of Prematurföreningen Mirakel
• Ana Tamayo, Communications Specialist, Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Products, EU Joint Action on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections (EU-JAMRAI 2)
• Laura Alonso, Communications Specialist, Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Products, EU Joint Action on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections  (EU-JAMRAI 2)
• Dr. Danilo Lo Fo Wong, Regional Advisor Control of AMR, WHO Europe
• Andrea Caputo, Global Health Advisor, ReAct Europe
• James Malar, Rights and Gender Advisor, STOP TB Partnership

Patient survivor story and tips on advocacy

In an incredibly moving speech, Pernilla Rönnholm (Sweden) shared her personal story of losing one of her twin babies to the ESBL bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae. The other twin survived thanks to a combination of four different antibiotics. She described the consequences of this experience as a parent and her motivation to found Prematurföreningen Mirakel because she wanted to “turn trauma into positive change and help others”. In particular, she advocates for certain infection prevention and control measures, such as single rooms to slow down the spread of infections and increased staffing levels in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).

How to mobilise communities on AMR

Ana Tamayo and Laura Alonso detailed the communications work of the Joint Action on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections (EU-JAMRAI). This includes a behavior change communication toolkit, some political GIFs and an AMR symbol (two hearts stuck together in the shape of two capsules). They also stressed the need to base the communication on positive concepts (‘build’, ‘together’, ‘prevention is in the hands of each and every one of us’) and avoid warlike concepts (‘fight’, ‘struggle’, ‘defeat’).

James Malar commented on how useful the United Nations (UN) high-level meetings were for the tuberculosis (TB) community to establish a shared set of priorities, key asks, and engage with other stakeholders. In this regard, he stressed the importance of including civil society organisations in official national delegations to the UN.  The TB community was able to establish a community-led accountability report that assesses progress towards key targets on a yearly basis.

Dr. Danilo Lo Fo Wong detailed some of the measures taken by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in this respect. The WHO developed tools and materials that can be used by communities, such as a poster for doctors’ waiting rooms to inform patients that antibiotics are not always necessary. The WHO developed the antibiotic-free prescription leaflet to guide the doctor/patient discussion and enable joint decision-making. The World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week and the #Stories_of_AMR campaign were also mentioned as initiatives to make AMR more relatable to the wider public.

Andrea Caputo stressed the importance of adapting communication campaigns to the audience and taking into account diversity and local needs. In terms of community engagement, Andrea presented React's ‘From people to leaders’ call to action, a global campaign aimed at amplifying the voices of communities and civil society in the global response to antimicrobial resistance.

What is next?

The first webinar brought the patient perspective on AMR and the role of patient organisations. The second webinar featured stakeholder perspectives on how to better mobilise communities on this issue. The third and final webinar will take us to the political and policy level ahead of the United Nations General Assembly on AMR.