Assessing antimicrobial resistance inclusion in pre-service pharmacy training curricula of five selected sub-Saharan African universities

Challenges and opportunities

Bibliographic Data

ID22424376
AuthorsLove Omoniyei (Caritas Nigeria), Abdulmumin Damilola (Caritas Nigeria), Janice Odhiambo (Kenya AIDS Vaccine Initiative), Udombana Nsongurua (Caritas Nigeria), Yusuf Babatunde (0000-0002-5714-3673, Caritas Nigeria), Asiadze Susanna Mawufemor (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology), Joy Francis (Caritas Nigeria), Saleem Ismail (Caritas Nigeria), Omolayo Awolola (Institute of Health Services and Policy Research), Hafeez Hamza (0000-0001-9305-9930, Caritas Nigeria), Samuel Akpan (0000-0001-7356-2600, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), Ayodele O Majekodunmi (0000-0003-4986-8284, Achieving Health Nigeria Initiative, corresponding author), Estelle Mbadiwe (ACT Foundation, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume26
Issue1
Publication date2026-03-23
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBMC Medical Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1472-6920 • E-ISSN: 1472-6920
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1186/s12909-026-09015-y
PMID41866473
OpenAlexW7140044676
LanguageEN
References cited22

The World Health Organisation’s Global Action Plan (GAP) on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) emphasises the need for awareness, education, and training of health workers. Globally, there are major gaps in AMR awareness and knowledge among pre-service healthcare professionals. This study evaluated the inclusion of AMR content in pre-service pharmacy curricula across five sub-Saharan African universities.This study was part of the award winning One Health Pan-African Internship Program 2020–2021, hosted by the Ducit Blue Foundation in collaboration with the African Regional Office of the International Pharmaceutical Students Federation (IPSF AfRO). Five universities were included based on their students’ participation in the internship programme. The pre-service pharmacy curricula of the universities were evaluated against the WHO AMR training competency framework, followed by inductive thematic analysis, using Microsoft Excel.Results showed limited progress in the inclusion of AMR content in the pre-service curricula. Though some AMR-related topics were present, they were obscured within other subjects. Those topics included were not well aligned with antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) objectives of the AMR Global Action Plan.There are still major gaps in AMR inclusion in pre-service curricula, which may contribute to the poor AMR outcomes seen in sub-Saharan Africa. Feasibility studies are recommended to assess the costs of designing, upgrading, and implementing new curricula. Training and capacity building for pharmacy lecturers and educators are also needed to update their knowledge on current advances in AMR research. Finally, the integration strategy for implementing the curriculum should include both short-term and long-term plans, with regular monitoring and evaluation to ensure that key AMS goals are embedded at the pre-service level.

Curriculum · MEDLINE · Pharmacy education · Pharmacy practice · Antibiotic Use and Resistance · Infection Control in Healthcare · Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient Outcomes · Pharmacy

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