Three student winners have been announced for the essay and video competitions hosted in observance of World Antibiotics Day in the Virgin Islands.

The winners are Dickson Josiah Cooper of the Althea Scatliffe Primary School; Anthony Cheltenham Jr. of the Elmore Stoutt High School; and Simone Phillip of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.

Chief of Drugs and Pharmaceutical Services, Mrs. Gracia Wheatley-Smith congratulated each student for participating in the competitions.

She added, “These entries were evaluated by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Pharmaceutical Procurement Services (PPS) and will be used for awareness efforts in the region.”

The students were awarded prizes such as a new Hewlett Packard laptop, a Samsung Galaxy and an iPhone 8 Plus.

Mrs. Wheatley-Smith also highlighted the sponsors for the prizes who were BVI Communications, the Ministry of Health and Social Development and OECS PPS.

The competitions were held to raise awareness about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which is the ability of a microorganisam like bacteria, viruses and some parasites to stop an antimicrobial such as an antibiotic or antiviral from working against it. World Antibiotics Day was held on November 12.

The Ministry of Health and Social Development aspires to provide a caring and integrated system of health and social services that facilitates the recovery of human development and quality of life in the British Virgin Islands.

Photo Captions:

Caption 1 of 3: Dickson Josiah Cooper of the Althea Scatliffe Primary School won a new laptop for the best primary division entry in the World Antibiotics Day Essay Competition. (Photo Credit: Franklyn Skerritt/GIS)

Caption 2 of 3: Anthony Cheltenham Jr. of the Elmore Stoutt High School won best entry for secondary division for the World Antibiotics Day Video Competition. (Photo Credit: Adrianna Soverall/GIS)

Caption 3 of 3: Simone Phillip of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College won best video entry for tertiary education for the World Antibiotics Day Video Competition. (Photo Credit: Adrianna Soverall/GIS)