Taking Antibiotics for a virus is like trying to sweeten lake Victoria with a bag of sugar

Video in English (see also the Swahili version) warns that attempting to treat a virus or common cold by self-medication with antibiotics can lead to the development of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). It uses humour and Tanzanian metaphors for foolishness to make its point. This was originally developed as an audio piece, but still images have been added in post-production to create a video.  

Audio and images produced as part of a Participatory Action Research (PAR) Workshop with young professionals in Mwanza, Tanzania to create public health messages on Antimicrobial Resistance in a post-COVID East Africa in June 2022. The project built upon data gathered in two international, interdisciplinary research projects (HATUA – 'Holistic Approaches to Understanding Antimicrobial Resistance in East Africa' and CARE – 'COVID-19 and Antimicrobial Resistance in East Africa – Impact and Response'), seeking to understand the wider medical and societal drivers of AMR in East Africa and identify possible interventions to curb the spread of AMR. The workshop ran for 9 days over a 3 week period and consisted of focus group style discussions with participants to explore issues surrounding AMR, antibiotic use, and public health messaging awareness in local communities (days 1-2), participant-led design of poster, radio, and video messages with feedback from the research team and introduction to filming/recording equipment (days 3-4), filming, shooting and recording materials within local settings in Mwanza with participants serving as actors, directors, and crew with guidance from research team (days 4-8) and a final in-person review and hands-on feedback of preliminary mock-ups of posters and videos (day 9). Participants have continued to collaborate via email and WhatsApp as materials were finalised. Final video production and editing was undertaken by the researchers. 

Correspondence: mgk@st-andrews.ac.uk; kjf4@st-andrews.ac.uk