ResistX

ResistX is a gamified learning platform designed to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in sub-Saharan African countries. Through engaging mobile games and interactive campaigns, ResistX educates communities about responsible antibiotic use and hygiene practices, fostering positive behavior change and empowering individuals to combat AMR.

Neema Goryo, CEO of ResistX, leads our team in combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through gamified learning in sub-Saharan Africa, promoting responsible antibiotic use and hygiene practices.

ResistX tackles the critical issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in sub-Saharan African communities, where limited awareness and understanding of responsible antibiotic use contribute significantly to the spread of AMR. Globally, AMR poses a severe threat to health, food security, and environmental safety. Current estimates attribute approximately 4.95 million deaths annually to AMR, with projections indicating a potential increase to 10 million deaths per year by 2050 if left unaddressed.

The causes of AMR are complex, including factors such as the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals, inadequate infection prevention and control practices, and limited access to clean water and sanitation. In sub-Saharan Africa, where healthcare resources are often scarce, the impact of AMR is particularly profound.

ResistX aims to address these challenges by focusing on education and behavior change. By leveraging gamified learning and interactive campaigns, ResistX seeks to empower individuals with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about antibiotic use and hygiene practices. By targeting communities where the majority of antibiotics are used outside of formal healthcare settings, ResistX aims to make a significant impact on reducing the spread of AMR and its associated health and economic burdens.

ResistX primarily serves students in schools across sub-Saharan Africa, aiming to address their lack of awareness and understanding regarding responsible antibiotic use and hygiene practices. By targeting this audience, ResistX seeks to instill knowledge and promote behavior change early, fostering a culture of responsible antibiotic use that can be carried into adulthood.

To understand the needs of students, ResistX engages directly with schools and educators to gather insights into the challenges they face regarding AMR. Through consultations and feedback sessions, ResistX ensures that its educational content is relevant, engaging, and effective in driving behavior change. Additionally, ResistX uses data analytics to track user engagement and gather feedback, allowing for continuous improvement of its platform and content.

By engaging with students and schools, ResistX aims to empower the next generation with the knowledge and skills to combat AMR, ultimately improving health outcomes and reducing the burden of AMR in sub-Saharan Africa.

ResistX will provide significant public goods through its work to combat antimicrobial resistance:

Knowledge & Data: All educational content, anonymous data collected, and insights generated will be freely available online under open-license terms. This fosters global sharing of best practices for community-driven AMR mitigation. 

Services: The core games and interactive platform will be accessible to users worldwide at no direct cost, empowering populations everywhere with awareness and skills regarding antimicrobial stewardship. 

Open-source Technology: Upon maturity, the full suite of technological and analytical tools powering ResistX will be open-sourced, allowing other initiatives to leverage our infrastructure for maximizing impact.

Policy Guidance: Reports incorporating multiple data domains will advise evidence-based One Health policymaking with perspectives from diverse populations, ensuring global policies reflect community realities.

By prioritizing open knowledge exchange, ResistX directly contributes to the overall goals of reducing AMR and protecting global health as a non-excludable public good available to all.

ResistX aims to have significant, wide-reaching impact by:

Activities: Using interactive games and campaigns, we promote AMR education among students in Tanzania. 

Outputs: 200,000 students annually will access our engaging content on best practices. 

Short-term outcomes: Students demonstrate 20% average increase in health knowledge as evidenced by our pilot program evaluations. 

Intermediate outcomes: By graduating informed cohorts, community antibiotic misuse and poor hygiene progressively decrease over 3-5 years as indicated in behavioral surveys.

Long-term outcomes: National surveillance data, like declining resistance rates in isolated bacteria and reduced infection mortality, will validate widespread positive behavior modification attributable to ResistX's approach within 10 years.

This creates tangible impact in multiple ways. Students directly receive vital life skills for self-care and advocacy. Communities see reduced AMR threats to health and economic stability over time. Policymakers obtain community-level evidence to fund targeting solutions like access to clean water sources. Ultimately, global efforts against impending pandemics are strengthened.

Over the next year, ResistX plans to expand our pilot program from 5 to 30 schools across rural Tanzania, reaching an additional 1,000 students. We aim to refine our platform based on usage data and further validate our model's effectiveness at driving behavior change. 

In years 2-3, we will scale nationwide in Tanzania through partnerships with the Ministry of Education and public/private funders. By year 3, our platform and educational content will be deployed in 500 schools across the country, impacting over 200,000 students annually. 

In parallel, we will adapt our solution for rollout in neighboring Kenya and Uganda based on regional priorities determined through stakeholder workshops. Improved guidance from policymakers there will help optimize localized content for their populations.

By year 3, ResistX targets reaching a total of 500,000 students across East Africa through strategic government approval and by enlisting teacher training networks like Teach For All to facilitate widespread adoption. 

Advanced data analytics will continually refine delivery of educational games/campaigns to maximize retention of the rising "AMR-aware" demographic cohort entering communities. National policy reforms will reflect grassroots needs.

Short-Term Metrics:

- User retention rates from our pilot showed 60% of students regularly engage with games after 2 months. Future targets are 70% after 3 months and 80% after 6 months.  
- Pre/post student surveys demonstrate a 20% average increase in knowledge during pilot testing. We aim to surpass 25% gains across new regions.

Intermediate Metrics:  

- Behavioral surveys will track reduced antibiotic requests at school clinics and increased handwashing compliance compared to baseline levels in partner communities.

Long-Term Metrics:

- National diarrhea disease surveillance data from the Tanzanian Ministry of Health targets a 10% reduction in pediatric cases within 5 years if responsible usage behavior increases as expected.

- Antimicrobial resistance testing of commonly-isolated bacterial pathogens by the CDC aims to show sustained or declining resistance levels after 10 years corresponding to graduating ResistX-educated student cohorts.

By frequently measuring against comprehensive, quantifiable indicators informed by our pilot results, ResistX systematically evaluates performance to refine our approach and ensure continual progress on transforming AMR outcomes.

Some key barriers ResistX may face and our plans to overcome them:

Funding: Modest pilot budgets require expansion capital. Minimum £500k over 3 years is needed for hiring, outreach, and technology development/support. The Trinity Challenge award would allow scaling impact. 

Access: Limited rural connectivity and device penetration could curb usability. We will pursue partnerships with telecom providers for subsidized data packages and explore offline functionality. 

Adoption: Busy curricula may impede integration into classrooms without support. Dedicated training and resources for educators will maximize appropriate usage and monitor progress.

Outreach: Vast regions pose geographic barriers to engagement. Deploying carefully selected community health workers and strategic media campaigns sufficiently raises awareness.

Policy: Guidelines requiring parental consent slightly slow recruitment rates. Change advocacy with Ministries of Health and Education streamlines ethical approvals.

By proactively securing strategic alliances, creatively addressing infrastructure constraints, and gaining high-level technical assistance and endorsement, ResistX remains determined to deliver transformative results across barriers in its mission to curb antimicrobial resistance.

We are applying to The Trinity Challenge because it directly aligns with and can greatly help facilitate ResistX's mission to combat antimicrobial resistance through community-focused initiatives. 

As mentioned previously, barriers like limited start-up funding, infrastructure constraints in remote areas, and challenges integrating into existing systems hamper scaling our model's impact. 

The Trinity Challenge'sscale of support is precisely what is needed to surmount these hurdles. The £1,000,000 grant would allow expanding to a nationwide scale 3 years ahead of schedule by empowering:

- Rigorous technology development and content customization for diverse populations

- Robust implementation roll-out partnering with telecom providers and the Ministry of Education 

- Evaluation of integrated insights driving well-informed policy recommendations  

- Capacity building by training educators and community health workers 

- Strong collaboration nurturing local investment that ensures long-term sustainability

By financing priority needs, the Challenge tremendously accelerates societal transformation. It recognizes grassroots solutions deserve spotlight and funding to save countless lives otherwise lost to drug-resistant threats. We therefore believe the Trinity Challenge is ideal to realize ResistX's potential at the scale required.

There are a few key organizations ResistX would value partnering with through The Trinity Challenge collaborator network to maximize our impact:

- Telecommunication providers in Tanzania like Vodacom and Tigo - Their expertise integrating digital health platforms into existing mobile infrastructure could significantly expand our reach in remote communities. 

- UNICEF - Their extensive experience implementing national education programs, especially for girls and in low-resource areas, would greatly aid take-up and usage of our solution. 

- Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine - Collaboration with their experts in evaluating public health initiatives and AMR surveillance methodology would strengthen validation of our outcomes and strategy optimization.

- Global Health Advocates - Their advocacy capabilities and networks within multilateral health and financing institutions would accelerate integration of our evidence-based policy proposals.

Formal collaborations with experienced organizations deeply familiar with the Tanzanian context promise invaluable guidance, resources and support that further removes barriers - allowing ResistX to sustainably deliver its full life-changing potential for antimicrobial resistance prevention.