What is the name of your organization?
Wits Diagnostic Innovation Hub
What is the name of your solution?
B-Sure: Better Antibiotic Use
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Digital support for integrating the efficacy of stock management with STI diagnosis and treatment for overall AMR stewardship.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Johannesburg, South Africa
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
South Africa
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
We are working to solve the poor and fragmented management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) at community health clinics (CHCs) in South Africa. Antimicrobials are consistently listed among the top five nationally reported stockouts, with inappropriate empiric prescribing contributing to treatment failure and growing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The problem is severe: South Africa faces over 4 million cases of gonorrhoea and chlamydia in women, and up to 10 million cases in men aged 15–49—among the highest global STI burdens. If untreated, these infections lead to serious reproductive health complications, vertical transmission, and increased HIV risk in a country already facing a high HIV prevalence. Globally, rising multi-drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae (N. gonorrhoeae) compounds this AMR threat.
Key contributing factors include lack of diagnostics at community level, weak stock management systems, limited AMR stewardship, and insufficient education on appropriate antibiotic use. To address this, we propose four study objectives: (i) auditing antibiotic stock-outs at CHCs, (ii) assessing the appropriateness of STI-related prescriptions, (iii) using N. gonorrhoeae as a probe organism for STI burden and resistance surveillance, and (iv) examining knowledge and practices among providers and patients to inform better supply chain and stewardship strategies.
What is your solution?
Our solution, B-SURE (Better Support for Using the Right Antibiotic Every Time), is a data-driven digital health platform designed to accrue site-level data and patient-level insights to improve stock management and STI care at CHCs, such as the Esselen Clinic in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. It works by unifying and integrating data from five proven digital tools: eLABS, Aviro Pocket Clinic, GeneXpert Diagnostics, the National Surveillance Centre (NSC), and the Stock Visibility System (SVS) into a unified decision-support system. For example, eLABS, already deployed in 3,000+ primary health facilities in South Africa and Zambia, tracks laboratory test logistics and results. Aviro Pocket Clinic supports health workers with decision-making and engages patients via SMS and WhatsApp to improve adherence and awareness. GeneXpert provides near-point-of-care STI testing, and NSC visualizes antimicrobial usage data and AMR. Together, these tools address our problem by enabling real-time monitoring of antibiotic use, stock levels, and STI patterns. B-SURE identifies inappropriate antibiotic use prescribing hotspots. Importantly, it also collects patient-reported outcomes through Aviro, adding valuable community-level insights. By merging these capabilities into one seamless platform, B-SURE delivers a scalable, adaptive response model that improves clinical care, strengthens supply chains, and empowers both patients and providers to make evidence-informed decisions.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our solution serves a broad spectrum of actors along the supply chain continuum—from national tender award processes to procurement managers, stock controllers, pharmacies, healthcare providers, and ultimately patients, including those at high risk of STIs. Currently, these actors are underserved due to systemic inefficiencies. Tender processes are often delayed and rigid; preferred providers must hold large buffer stocks, risking expiry; and procurement decisions lack demand-side data, leading to mismatches in supply. Pharmacists and clinicians may be forced to dispense based on availability rather than clinical need.
In South Africa, empiric STI treatment is the norm due to the high cost and limited access to point-of-care diagnostics. The syndromic management approach, while pragmatic, leaves providers unaware of evolving local antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns. Vulnerable populations—including adolescents, young women, MSM, and sex workers—face barriers such as stigma, misinformation, and limited access.
B-SURE addresses these challenges by integrating personalized digital tools for patients (via Aviro Pocket Clinic), diagnostic and prescribing support for clinicians (via eLABS and GeneXpert), and real-time planning tools for policy-makers (via the National Surveillance Centre). This comprehensive approach improves decision-making, adherence, and supply chain responsiveness—creating a data-powered, user-centric model for STI care and AMR mitigation.
