Health sciences students write a 600 to 800 word article for the general public on one AMR pillar. Entries open Friday 13 November and close Tuesday 24 November 2026 at 11:59 pm EAT. Winners are announced Friday 27 November 2026.
The brief
Write an article that makes an ordinary reader stop treating antibiotic misuse like a joke. Pick one pillar, show one everyday habit that drives antimicrobial resistance (AMR), explain why it matters in plain language, and end with one action the reader can take this week.
Your reader is a member of the public: a parent, a farmer, a shopkeeper, a classmate who studies engineering. If they need a medical dictionary to follow you, the piece is not working.
| Pillar | Starting points (you can choose your own angle within the pillar) |
|---|---|
| People | Buying antibiotics without a prescription; stopping a course once you feel better; sharing or saving leftover doses; asking for antibiotics for a cold or flu |
| Animals | Giving livestock or poultry antibiotics without a vet; using antibiotics to make animals grow faster; how resistance moves between animals and people |
| Plants | How antimicrobials used on farms and crops can feed resistance; what farmers and buyers can do differently |
| Environment | What happens to antibiotics that are flushed, binned or washed into water; hospital and farm waste; safe disposal (ask your pharmacist) |
You may use any style that suits a public reader: an opinion piece, a story with a real or composite character, an explainer, or a letter. Humour is welcome when it targets the habit. Never mock people who are sick.
Who can enter
- Students currently enrolled in a certificate, diploma, undergraduate or postgraduate programme at a university or college in Kenya, in one of these courses: medicine and surgery, clinical medicine, pharmacy or pharmaceutical technology, nursing, dental surgery, medical laboratory sciences, public health, or veterinary medicine.
- Individuals only. No team entries.
- One entry per person.
- Not eligible: members of the campaign team, the judges, PharmaProLearn staff, and their immediate family.
You upload a photo or scan of your current student ID when you register. It is used only to confirm that you are an enrolled student in an eligible course. Cash prize winners also show a national ID before payment, so the name can be matched to their M-Pesa account.
Every entrant also makes a pledge on this site before submitting their entry.
What to submit
| Part | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Title | Up to 12 words |
| Pillar | One of People, Animals, Plants, Environment |
| Article | 600 to 800 words, in English, typed or pasted into the entry box. The title and reference list do not count. Entries under 600 or over 800 words cannot be submitted |
| Call to action | The article ends with one specific action a reader can take (for example, "Finish the full course your health worker prescribed, even when you feel better") |
| References | A list with a working link or full citation for every fact or figure you use. Every reference is checked |
| Writer's note | Up to 100 words: why you chose this topic and where your examples came from. Not scored or published; judges may ask you about it |
Do not put your name or institution anywhere in the article itself. Judging is blind.
How to enter
- Go to the writing competition on this site and click Register.
- Fill in your full name, email, phone number, institution, course, year of study and student registration number. Upload a clear photo or scan of your student ID (JPG, PNG or PDF, max 5 MB), and create a password.
- Make your pledge if you have not already.
- Open My entry. Add your title, pick your pillar, paste your article and references, and write your writer's note.
- Click Save draft to keep working, or Submit entry when you are done. Once submitted, your entry is final and cannot be edited.
- Tick the declaration: "This is my own original work, written by me without AI drafting."
- You will get a confirmation on screen and by email. No confirmation means your entry has not gone through.
Content rules
Facts. Every fact or figure needs a source from WHO, FAO, WOAH, UNEP, the Kenya Ministry of Health, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, a peer-reviewed journal, or the campaign fact sheet on this site. Blogs, social media posts and unsourced news claims do not count. Every reference is checked. An invented source, or a source that does not say what you claim, disqualifies the entry.
Safety. Your article must not:
- give dosing advice or tell readers which antibiotic to take for any illness;
- name or promote any brand of medicine, pharmacy, agrovet or company;
- name, accuse or shame a specific business or person;
- discourage anyone from seeing a health worker or vet.
Originality. The article must be your own work and not published anywhere before, including your blog or social media. Short quotes are fine if they are in quotation marks and credited. Do not publish your entry until winners are announced on 27 November.
AI tools. You may use AI or software tools to check spelling and grammar only. Using AI to research, outline, draft or rewrite your article is not allowed. Finalists will be asked to talk through their article and may be asked for earlier drafts.
Your entry will be disqualified if it:
- arrives after the deadline;
- is copied, or written or drafted by AI;
- cites a source that does not exist, or misrepresents what a source says;
- breaks any of the safety rules above;
- contains your name or institution in the article text;
- comes from someone who does not meet the eligibility rules, gave false details, or cannot explain their own article when asked.
How entries are judged
Judging rewards what only a real writer close to the problem can produce: a clear argument, Kenyan detail and a human voice. Every entry first passes integrity checks, then two judges who do not see your name score it out of 100.
| Criterion | Marks | What judges look for |
|---|---|---|
| Insight and argument | 25 | A clear point of view that goes beyond the fact sheet. Explains why the habit persists, not only that it is harmful |
| Kenyan context and specific detail | 20 | Settings, people and situations a Kenyan reader recognises: a named kind of place, a real practice, a conversation, a price. Not general statements that could be about any country |
| Clarity for the public | 20 | A reader with no medical training follows it from start to finish. Terms are explained; each paragraph leads to the next |
| Accuracy and use of evidence | 15 | Facts are correct and not overstated, and each source says what the article claims |
| Voice and craft | 10 | Sounds like a person, not a template: a strong opening, varied sentences, no filler or stock phrases |
| Call to action | 10 | One specific, realistic action that follows from the argument |
Process: every entry is checked for eligibility, length, copying, unsafe content and fake or misused sources; failing any check removes it before scoring. Two judges then score each entry independently. The top 10 authors are contacted for a short conversation about their article and may be asked for earlier drafts. The top 5 are fact-checked before results are confirmed. Ties go to the higher Insight score, then Kenyan context. The judges' decision is final.
Prizes
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st | KES 3,000, three months of PharmaProLearn Notes access, a winner certificate, article published on this site with your byline, and a featured post |
| 2nd | KES 2,000, three months of PharmaProLearn Notes access, a second-place certificate, published with byline, and a featured post |
| 3rd | KES 1,000, three months of PharmaProLearn Notes access, a third-place certificate, published with byline, and a featured post |
| 4th and 5th | One month of PharmaProLearn Notes access, certificate of merit, and publication with byline |
| All valid entries | One month of PharmaProLearn Notes access and a certificate of participation |
Cash prizes are paid by M-Pesa to the winner's registered phone number within 14 days of the announcement. Prizes cannot be transferred. PharmaProLearn may give additional recognition to participants at its discretion.
Key dates
| Date (2026) | What happens |
|---|---|
| Fri 13 November | Entries open |
| 18 to 24 November | World AMR Awareness Week |
| Tue 24 November, 11:59 pm EAT | Entries close |
| 25 to 26 November | Final judging, shortlist checks and fact-checking |
| Fri 27 November | Winners announced |
| By Fri 11 December | Cash prizes paid |
PharmaProLearn may extend the deadline. Any change will be posted on this site and emailed to registered entrants.
Rights, privacy and general terms
Your rights. You keep the copyright in your article. By entering, you allow PharmaProLearn and the campaign's partners to publish, excerpt and share it, always with your name, without payment. Edits are limited to grammar, length and factual corrections, and you will see the edited version before it is published.
Your data. PharmaProLearn uses your details to run the competition, check eligibility, contact you about your entry and any rewards, and pay prizes. Your student ID image is used only to verify enrolment, is seen only by the competition administrator, and is deleted by 27 December 2026. Winners' names, institutions and articles are published. Your details are not sold or shared with third parties. Other entrant records are deleted 12 months after the competition closes, except records needed for prize payments.
General. The competition is organised by PharmaProLearn as part of the "Is AMR a joke to you?" campaign for World AMR Awareness Week 2026. Entering means you accept these rules. Questions: support@pharmaprolearn.com