Conferences

18–24 November 2020, Online Event
World Antimicrobial Awareness Week

A global action plan to tackle the growing problem of resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines was endorsed at the Sixty-Eighth World Health Assembly in May 2015. One of the key objectives of the plan is to improve awareness and understanding of antimicrobial resistance through effective communication, education and training.

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW), aims to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and to encourage best practices among the public, health workers and policy makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections.

WAAW owes its origins to European Antibiotic Awareness Day, a European Union initiative that started in 2008. World Antibiotic Awareness Week began in 2015. As resistance grows to a wider range of drugs and across human and animal health, Tripartite Organizations (the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and WHO) the scope of WAAW was expanded in 2020, changing the focus of the awareness week from "antibiotics" to the more encompassing and inclusive term "antimicrobials". The Tripartite Executive Committee also decided to fix WAAW dates to 18-24 November every year starting from 2020.

The slogan for 2020 is "Antimicrobials: handle with care" applicable to all sectors. The theme for the human health sector for WAAW 2020 is “United to preserve antimicrobials"

WHO which leads the global campaign for human health urges all countries across the world to take part in the week. AMR knows no borders, and this is an annual opportunity to join the global community in advocating for prudent antimicrobial use.

Everyone has a role; individuals as well as organisations can take action for WAAW.

Some quick ideas include:

  • Seek out and participate in your country’s awareness week activities
  • Cascade your national AMR awareness campaign materials via social media or other communication channels
  • Cascade WHO WAAW campaign materials, they are available via https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-antimicrobial-awareness-week/2020
  • Join the global twitter storm by tweeting an AMR related message or image on Wednesday, November 18 from 9am-10am EST adding the following hashtags to the messages: WorldAntimicrobialAwarenessWeek; #WAAW #AntimicrobialResistance

Sample message:

#WorldAntimicrobialAwarenessWeek (#WAAW): 

#AntimicrobialResistance is one of the most urgent global threats to health. Antimicrobials including antibiotics can cause side-effects such as diarrhoea and contribute to the development of resistance.  

Dr Diane Ashiru-Oredope

National Lead, World Antimicrobial Awareness Week and EAAD, England 

Lead Pharmacist, HCAI & AMR Division, Public Health England 

Global AMR Lead, Commonwealth Pharmacists Association

https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-antimicrobial-awareness-week/2020

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