The Federation of Asian Pharmaceutical Associations Call For Member Associations to Join the 2015 Antibiotic Awareness Week CampaignsnnFor detail campaign report, please download FAPA – AAW Activities Report.nnCampaign press release, please download (Eng-Chi)亞洲藥學會FAPA-Press-Release-for-Members-Re-AMR_MichaelWei-Chih20151030.nnFor detail campaign pictures, please refer to these articles:n
nThe Federation of Asian Pharmaceutical Associations (FAPA) together with its 18 Member Associations in Countries from the Western Pacific Region, Eastern Mediterranean Region and South East Asian Region, have focused its attention to answer the call of WHO to promote awareness of the rational use of antibiotics to the Public.nnIn a meeting held in the Philippines last September 12, 2015, leaders from over 14 National Pharmacy Associations discussed ways on how to heed the objectives set in the Global Action Plan Against Antimicrobial Resistance in their own countries through a workshop. They also planned the activities that will be organized by FAPA for the month of November during the Antibiotic Awareness Week and agreed to include Antimicrobial Resistance as one of the major topics in the upcoming 2016 FAPA Congress that will be held in Bangkok, Thailand. The Congress is expected to be an excellent venue for pharmacists from different Asian countries to learn about the initiatives and best practices about antimicrobial resistance in other countries which they can apply to the many challenges that pharmacists face in the fight against AMR in their own countries. The meeting was ceremonially concluded with delegates signing a Commitment to Act against Antimicrobial Resistance followed by a press conference attended by the local media.nnFor the Month of November, FAPA launched activities to support the World Health Organization (WHO) campaigns during the Antibiotic Awareness Week held from November 16-22, 2015. FAPA encouraged pharmacists and pharmacy students from member associations to use social media platforms like Facebook® to generate interest among the public on the Rational Use of Antibiotics. The primary aim was to spread the educational materials like infographics produced by WHO in their own networks. To engage the pharmacists, FAPA also initiated the Twibbon® Campaign, providing a way for pharmacists to show their support. Twibbon® is an application that lets Facebook and Twitter Users to easily add to their profile photos a logo and a banner for an event or campaign to show their support. The Twibbon® banner was designed by a member of the Asian Young Pharmacist Group (AYPG). During the few weeks of the campaign, it was able to garner 2,126 supporters from different countries as recorded by the application.nnThe following are the links used by FAPA on social media platforms to provide updates to Pharmacists about developments and upcoming events in pharmacy practice in Asia and to promote awareness on the rational use of antibiotics.n
1). FAPA Facebook fanpage https://www.facebook.com/FAPAInternational
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2). FAPA Facebook account https://www.facebook.com/fapa.asia
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3). FAPA Facebook activity page https://www.facebook.com/events/858484160926275/
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4). FAPA Twitter https://twitter.com/FAPAAsia
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5). Twibbon Campaign http://twibbon.com/Support/fapa-amr-campaign
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In addition to the AMR Twibbon® Campaign, FAPA also organized the 4-Frame Comics Competition to spark creativity among pharmacists and pharmacy students in explaining the concept of AMR in a meaningful but interesting way to the Public. The competition was held at two levels: local then international. FAPA member associations agreed to support this activity by hosting/ launching this contest at the local level. The first place winners of each national competition were awarded by FAPA with 100 USD. A total of 10 Member Associations forwarded their national winning entries for the International Competition. Attached at the end of this report are the entries of the finalists from the 10 Member Associations who participated in the international competition, including the stories of the winning teams.
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They may be also accessed at the following URL: https://www.facebook.com/fapa.asia
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The entries were judged based on the following criteria:
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| Items | Content | Weight |
| Fit to Theme | Theme: “Antibiotics: Handle with Care” | 40％ |
| Comic Continuity | Story is told in flow of four-frame; Content is smooth and easy to understand; Facilitate the viewers to comprehend the meaning of this competition and the theme | 20% |
| Comic Integrity | In terms of aesthetics, interesting, artistic | 30％ |
| Popularity Contest | Votes: Online votes | 10% |
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The Top 3 winners of the international level competition were from the following countries:
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Grand Prize: Cambodia – 1000 USD
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1st Runner up: Malaysia – 500 USD
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2nd Runner up: Philippines – 300 USD
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In all, the comics posted by FAPA online in the first week of November have been shared for over 900 times and currently has 5,000 Likes from Facebook Users.
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In all, the comics posted by FAPA online in the first week of November have been shared for over 900 times and currently has 5,000 Likes from Facebook Users.
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For detail campaign report, please download FAPA – AAW Activities Report.
