Medical students address international experts

MEDICAL students from UKZN were selected by the World Health Organization and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to present their strategic intervention to tackle Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) to an international panel of experts recently.

A diversely organised panel of scientists from various fields such as public health, infectious diseases, epidemiology, behavioural scientists, communication experts, and implementation strategists listened to Kapil Narain and Mohamed Hoosen Suleman’s solution and gave them feedback on how to further refine their proposal.

“Mohamed and I are fortunate for having been given such a prestigious opportunity to present at an international platform. Being recognised by such global giants in health care is something for us to be proud of and hold in the highest esteem. Meeting and engaging with leading experts in the field of public health was an exhilarating experience,” said Narain, a fifth year medical student.

The two passionate individuals who also recently presented their intervention at the Conference on Antibiotic Stewardship and Conservation in Africa, are developing an App to improve patient compliance to medication.

When questioned about the App, Suleman who is a recent UKZN pharmacy summa cum laude graduate and a current first year medical student, said: “Given that patient non-compliance to medication is a significant contributor to Antimicrobial Resistance, Kapil and I have designed an innovative approach using cell phone-based technology to send automated reminders via text messages to patients to take their medication on time. This mobile health intervention seeks to improve patient compliance to treatment, thereby significantly reducing Antimicrobial Resistance.”

This system works in a patient-specific manner as patients will receive these reminders at specific time-points with instructions on how to take their medication, as per their prescription.

Narain and Suleman were also offered the opportunity to visit the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva. At the WHO head office they were briefed on how high-level meetings are convened and the manner in which all member states around the world come together to discuss policy making and decisions that drive the course for health care.

They were also given special access to the WHO Emergency Operations Room where all emergency outbreaks across the globe are monitored. The two also met with the current Assistant Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr Hanan Balkhy. Dr Balkhy congratulated them on their outstanding work and expressed her joy knowing that there are passionate youth who are determined to find solutions to growing challenges that the world faces. The medical students said they were honoured to have been in the company of some of the globe’s highest authorities in terms of health care and decision making.

Do you want to receive news alerts via Telegram? Send us a message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.

You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts

Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.