Bernard Appiah

Children against antimicrobial resistance: an engagement project in Ghana

Bernard Appiah

2020 Advisory Board | Engage 2020 2019 Finalist | Engage Engage Advisory Board Member Science Engagement (Falling Walls Engage)

Bernard Appiah wears many hats. He is a pharmacist, science journalist, global health scholar, public engagement specialist, and science and health communication scholar and practitioner.

He is Assistant Professor at Syracuse University Department of Public Health, and founding director of the Centre for Science and Health Communication in Ghana. He serves on the Healthcare Safety and Quality Expert Committee of the United States Pharmacopeia where he is involved in activities that empower patients’ health literacy.  He is also Associate Fellow of Australia-based Communication Research Institute.

A son of a gong-gong beater or “town crier” in rural Ghana, Bernard’s main research interest is using communication and public engagement approaches to address global health challenges. These include antimicrobial resistance, childhood vaccination, medication safety, medication adherence, sickle cell disease and blood donation. His science engagement project involving children’s use of storytelling and picture drawing to fight antimicrobial resistance resulted in him being a 2019 Science Engager of the Year finalist.

His book, Medicines: Using Them Safely, uses storytelling and cartoons to engage readers. He has won several awards or grants including Ghana’s first Young Pharmacist of the Year Award, Wellcome Trust’s International Engagement Award, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges Explorations Innovator seed grant and Grand Challenges Canada’s Stars in Global Health innovator seed grant.

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