From Farm(acies) to SCOPHealth-acies – LeMSIC Lebanon

Name of the activity: From Farm(acies) to SCOPHealth-acies

Country/NMO: LeMSIC Lebanon

Program: Communicable Diseases

Contact information: contact [email protected] to get in touch with the Activity Coordinator

Type of the activity: First-time Activity

Category: Campaign

Focus area: Preventable Diseases, Reduce incidence of Antimicrobial Resistance

Sustainable Development Goals addressed: 

Problem statement:

About 700,000 deaths are caused by AMR and 48 million illnesses by contaminated food. Studies conducted in Lebanon showed that 34% use antibiotics in treating colds or viral infections, 18.8% purchase them based on pharmacist advice. Another study showed that 34% of red meat and 28% of dairy are contaminated. Since then, the deteriorating national economic situation has threatened food safety and exacerbated the AMR problem, which is why LeMSIC decided to conduct this activity.

Target groups:

• General population
• Medical students
• Other Students

Beneficiaries:

• General population
• Medical students
• Healthcare Students
• Other Students
• Doctors
• Other health professionals
• Children
• Youth
• Refugees
• Elderly people

Objectives:

1. To hold at least 2 sessions for at least 250 premedical and medical students in at least 7 medical schools in Lebanon in order to equip them with the knowledge needed to raise awareness on AMR and food safety in collaboration with at least 2 externals by the end of February 2022.
2. To educate at least 500 individuals in Lebanon on at least 2 different One Health topics (AMR & food safety) by the end of February 2022 through awareness booths, posters and coloring books. 
3. To assess the knowledge of at least 100 university students on AMR through a survey in collaboration with at least 1 external by the end of August 2022

Indicators of Success:

1.1 At least 250 students attend the sessions

1.2 At least 70% of the participants report positive feedback on the session

1.3 At least 70% of the participants perform better in the post-evaluation forms

2.1 At least 300 people are reached through the awareness booths

2.2 At least 70% of the booth participants report positive feedback

2.3 At least 100 people scan the linked QR codes to informative posters in pharmacies, supermarkets and universities

2.4 At least 800 views and interactions are reached on LeMSIC Instagram stories and posts about the campaigns

3.1 At least 100 people fill the survey”

Methodology:

• OCs were formed for the “WAAW” and  “Safety From Farm To Fork” campaigns
• MSF were contacted for a collaboration around AMR
• Posters were prepared to promote the AMR session
• AMR booth games and materials were prepared
• Posters about AMR were distributed in different hospitals and pharmacies
• Interactive Instagram stories about AMR were posted
• A survey is being prepared in collaboration with WHO
• Bake sales will be organized as a fundraiser to print food safety coloring books
• Coloring books were designed and distributed to children in hospitals and NGOs
• 1 Instagram post about food safety at home was posted on Christmas Eve
• A training session about how to raise awareness on food safety will be delivered by an external such as Food and Agriculture Organization
• At least 3 infographics about food safety will be designed linked to a QR code and placed in around 25 supermarkets
• At least 10 informative booths will be organized in supermarkets to raise awareness on food safety measures

Plans for evaluation:

WAAW Campaign:

• Pre-evaluation and post-evaluation forms were sent to assess the knowledge of medical students around AMR (the questions were sent by MSF). A feedback form was also sent to assess the quality of the session. 
• A feedback form as QR code was printed during the campaign (booths) on campuses where people would come, scan and fill it.
• An evaluation report comparing and analyzing pre and post-evaluation as well as feedback was prepared in coordination with the VPCB.

Food Safety Campaign:

• A pre-evaluation and a post-evaluation form will be prepared and sent to the trainees before and after the Food Safety Check training, which will assess their knowledge on food safety. –A feedback form to assess the quality of the session.
• A feedback form will be prepared to assess the impact of the supermarkets’ awareness booths. 
• The results from the two forms will be analyzed and compared, in coordination with the VPCB. 

External collaborations:

• Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (NGO, provided training for medical students about AMR)
• World Health Organization (research collaboration about AMR)
• Food and Agriculture Organization (training on food safety and how to transmit the knowledge to the public in English and in Arabic)