World Antimicrobial resistance Awareness Week 2024
november 18 - november 24
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.
As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and infections become increasingly difficult or impossible to treat. 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 AMR through effective communication, education and training. World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW) is a global campaign that is celebrated annually to improve awareness and understanding of AMR and encourage best practices among the public, One Health stakeholders and policymakers, who all play a critical role in reducing the further emergence and spread of AMR.
The theme for the World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW) 2024 is “Educate. Advocate. Act now.” This theme was chosen based on feedback from an online survey among stakeholders from the human, animal, plant, and environmental health sectors, which collected nearly 200 responses globally. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a pressing global health and socioeconomic crisis. It has significant impacts on human and animal health, food production and the environment. Drug-resistant-pathogens pose a threat to everyone, everywhere. Yet, much more can be done to raise public and stakeholder awareness. Therefore, this year’s theme calls on the global community to educate stakeholders on AMR, advocate for bold commitments and take concrete actions in response to AMR. The 2024 UNGA High-level Meeting on AMR and the fourth Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on AMR, for instance, provide a critical window of opportunity for political and financial commitments as well as increased accountability in response to AMR. Stronger political leadership, advocacy and accountability are needed at all levels and the time to act is now.
Links:
World AMR Awareness Week