World Antibiotic Awareness Week 2019
The future of antibiotics depends on all of us
Each November, World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW) aims to increase global awareness of antibiotic resistance and to encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and policy makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance.
Since their discovery, antibiotics have served as the cornerstone of modern medicine. However, the persistent overuse and misuse of antibiotics in human and animal health have encouraged the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance, which occurs when microbes, such as bacteria, become resistant to the drugs used to treat them.
The World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW) is jointly organized by the Government of Kenya (Ministries of Health and Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries) in collaboration with partners [Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Organization of Animal Health (OIE), World Health Organization (WHO), Becton, Dickinson and Company, ReAct group Africa, University of Nairobi, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Diamond V and the World Animal Protection), among others]. A Regional celebration will be held in Nairobi-Kenya from 18th to 23rd November 2019.