World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week 2024: A Note To Stakeholders In Health

World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness week (WAAW) is a week-long annual event taking place between 18 to 24 November to create (more) awareness on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This year’s 2024 event has come and gone with the theme: ‘Educate(stakeholders on AMR), advocate (for bold commitments) and act now (take concrete actions in response to AMR)’. Infection prevention and control and antimicrobial stewardship (IPAC & AMS) committees of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi organized a seminar on 21st of November, 2024 at the teaching hospital’s multipurpose hall to commemorate this year’s event with a special host to a radio program in Bauchi. The lessons learned shouldn't be forgotten, this informed the decision of members of IPAC & AMS to put it in black and white to serve as quick reminder for the stakeholders in health. It becomes necessary because the misuse of antimicrobials has reached alarming levels, with devastating consequences, including the rise of antimicrobial resistance. Shockingly, around 66% of oral antibiotics are consumed without a prescription, highlighting the urgent need for responsible antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). Antimicrobial resistance occurs when pathogenic agents like bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites develop mechanisms to resist the effect of antimicrobial drugs making the drugs less effective or ineffective in treating infections. This happens when microorganisms evolve and become resistant to medications, rendering them ineffective against infections. AMR is a stealthy but deadly threat, recognized globally as a top-ten health risk that demands urgent attention; it is a threat to control of emerging and reemerging infections contributing to approximately 5 million deaths all over the world. It threatens the successful achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as people living in poverty are facing heavy burden of infectious diseases and having to deal with the economic impact of infections that are resistant to treatment.