Youth as catalysts for antimicrobial resistance prevention, evidence from community based biosecurity interventions in sub-saharan africa
1
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
2
International Veterinary Students Association (IVSA) Nigeria, Ibadan, Nigeria
3
AMR Interversity Training Program(AMR-ITP), Kwara, Nigeria
4
African Youth AMR Alliance Task Force(AYARA-TF), Kampala, Uganda
5
University of Makerere, Makerere, Kampala, Uganda
6
AMR Now, Nairobi, Kenya
7
Kisii University, Kisii, Kenya
8
University of Liège,, Liège,, Belgium
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to animal, human, and environmental health, driven by inappropriate antimicrobial use and weak farm biosecurity, particularly among smallholder livestock systems in africa. community based and prevention focused approaches are essential to address antimicrobial resistance within a one health framework.
METHODS:
the level up biosecurity; lock-out amr campaign was implemented as a two phase, multi country, youth led intervention to strengthen biosecurity practices and antimicrobial resistance awareness among smallholder farmers. phase 1 involved a virtual training programme that recruited over 600 applicants across africa, from which 250 bioshield champions were selected and trained through 12 expert led sessions on antimicrobial resistance, vaccination, and farm biosecurity. phase 2 focused on physical community engagement, including farm visits, radio talk shows, scoping surveys using kobocollect, distribution of biosecurity starter kits, and deployment of social and behaviour change communication materials. activities were aligned with WHO, FAO, and WOAH guidelines.
RESULTS:
a total of 160 champions completed at least 75% of the training, with over 70% reporting significant improvement in knowledge of antimicrobial resistance and biosecurity linkages. community engagements reached approximately 5500 farmers across nigeria, kenya, uganda, and other african countries, with about 68% being small scale female farmers. scoping studies identified key gaps including irregular farm cleaning practices, poor feed storage, high vaccine costs, limited vaccine availability, and technical challenges in vaccine administration. following engagement, many farmers committed to low cost biosecurity actions such as regular cleaning, restricted farm access, and seeking professional advice before antimicrobial use.
CONCLUSIONS:
the bioshield campaign demonstrates that youth-led, community focused interventions can effectively strengthen antimicrobial resistance awareness and promote practical biosecurity adoption among smallholder farmers. combining capacity building, social and behaviour change strategies, and physical engagement offers a scalable and sustainable model for antimicrobial resistance prevention and one health programming in africa.
antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to animal, human, and environmental health, driven by inappropriate antimicrobial use and weak farm biosecurity, particularly among smallholder livestock systems in africa. community based and prevention focused approaches are essential to address antimicrobial resistance within a one health framework.
METHODS:
the level up biosecurity; lock-out amr campaign was implemented as a two phase, multi country, youth led intervention to strengthen biosecurity practices and antimicrobial resistance awareness among smallholder farmers. phase 1 involved a virtual training programme that recruited over 600 applicants across africa, from which 250 bioshield champions were selected and trained through 12 expert led sessions on antimicrobial resistance, vaccination, and farm biosecurity. phase 2 focused on physical community engagement, including farm visits, radio talk shows, scoping surveys using kobocollect, distribution of biosecurity starter kits, and deployment of social and behaviour change communication materials. activities were aligned with WHO, FAO, and WOAH guidelines.
RESULTS:
a total of 160 champions completed at least 75% of the training, with over 70% reporting significant improvement in knowledge of antimicrobial resistance and biosecurity linkages. community engagements reached approximately 5500 farmers across nigeria, kenya, uganda, and other african countries, with about 68% being small scale female farmers. scoping studies identified key gaps including irregular farm cleaning practices, poor feed storage, high vaccine costs, limited vaccine availability, and technical challenges in vaccine administration. following engagement, many farmers committed to low cost biosecurity actions such as regular cleaning, restricted farm access, and seeking professional advice before antimicrobial use.
CONCLUSIONS:
the bioshield campaign demonstrates that youth-led, community focused interventions can effectively strengthen antimicrobial resistance awareness and promote practical biosecurity adoption among smallholder farmers. combining capacity building, social and behaviour change strategies, and physical engagement offers a scalable and sustainable model for antimicrobial resistance prevention and one health programming in africa.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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