Jhpiego, eHealth Africa Launch Antibiotics Safety App

Jhpiego and eHealth Africa launched a mobile application in Abuja on Thursday to help communities verify the safety of antibiotics and monitor drug stock in real-time. The app, known as "Com Watch," aims to tackle the circulation of fake antibiotics and the shortage of genuine medicines.

Yemisi Ogundar, the project director for Com Watch, explained that the technology-driven solution addresses the growing issue of substandard and falsified antibiotics, which undermine treatment and exacerbate antimicrobial resistance. According to Ogundar, 40% of the global disease burden is affected by antimicrobial resistance.

The project emerged from a competitive grant funded by the Trinity Challenge in the United Kingdom, where Nigeria was selected from 200 applications across 50 countries. The app is currently available on Android devices and uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to verify drugs.

Dr. David Akpan from eHealth Africa noted that the platform allows community pharmacies and vendors to manage antibiotic stock and verify the authenticity of medicines.