World AMR Awareness Week 2023

When: 18 - 24 November 2023

Where: Worldwide

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial agents. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents become ineffective and infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.

The Quadripartite organizations - the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE) are pleased to announce the theme of World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW) 2023 remains ‘Preventing antimicrobial resistance together’, as in 2022.

AMR is a threat to humans, animals, plants and the environment. It affects us all. That is why this year's theme calls for cross-sectoral collaboration to preserve the effectiveness of antimicrobials. To effectively reduce AMR, all sectors must use antimicrobials prudently and appropriately, take preventive measures to decrease the incidence of infections and follow good practices in disposal of antimicrobial contaminated waste.

WAAW is a global campaign to raise awareness and understanding of AMR and promote best practices among One Health stakeholders to reduce the emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections. WAAW is celebrated from 18-24 November every year.

See: WAAW campaign guide | Public Trello board

Key upcoming events

8 November, 12:00-13:30 hrs CET | One Health Priority Research Agenda for AMR (AMR-OHPRA)

This webinar is organized to present and discuss the full AMR-OHPRA report, and the priority research areas identified in each of the five pillars, namely transmission, integrated surveillance, interventions, behavioral insights and change, and policy and economics.

13 November, 11:30-13:15 hrs CET | 3rd Annual Global Media Forum in lead up to WAAW 2023 Platform

This forum is being organised to support media understanding and communications on AMR. People from the global media community are welcome. Watch the event live stream.

15-16 November | The AMR Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Platform Inaugural Plenary Assembly

This event will be convened at the FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy with the aim to provide an opportunity for Partnership Platform members to convene, collaborate, and collectively establish priorities for combating AMR using the One Health approach. See the full agenda.

16 November, 12:00-13.30 hrs CET | Tracking Antimicrobial Resistance Country Self Assessment Survey (TrACSS)

This Quadripartite webinar is part of the WHO Global Webinar Series to support the implementation of national action plans on AMR.

17 November, 11:00-13:00 hrs UTC-3 | One Health: We all have a role to play in stopping AMR

This webinar organized by the Quadripartite is aimed at undergraduate students of veterinary, medical, agricultural, and environmental sciences and related disciplines. The event will be simultaneously interpreted into Spanish, English and Portuguese.

20-21 November | Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance - Strategies and Challenges

The event, hosted by the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety in Berlin, Germany aims to share expertise and discuss new ideas on the topic of strategies and measures for the reduction of AMR.

21 November, 15:00-16:00 hrs CET | Global Youth Dialogue with Prime Minister Mia Mottley on AMR

This webinar is geared towards the youth who have a unique role in advocacy to intensify political and popular support to tackle AMR across sectors and to popularize AMR as a social concern.

21-22 November, 08:30-16:00 hrs UTC-5 | Prevengamos juntos la resistencia a los antimicrobianos

This 2-day event organized by the Quadripartite will take place in Spanish, in Bogota, Colombia, and online.

28 November, 2 sessions | The Quadripartite One Health Legislative Assessment Tool for Antimicrobial Resistance

Virtual launch event of the tool that helps countries in the identification and assessment of the legal areas and elements that are important for AMR. This event will be translated in Spanish and French in dedicated sessions. The project team will introduce the tool: background and objectives, its content and internal structure, how the questions are formulated and the type of conclusions and recommendations that are derived from them, and give examples of its implementation in countries.