World AMR Awareness Week 2025 Calls for Urgent Action to Translate Commitments into Life-Saving Interventions

The World Health Organization (WHO) and global health partners are urging governments to intensify efforts against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as World AMR Awareness Week begins on 18 November 2025. This year’s campaign, themed “Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future,” stresses the need to convert political commitments into concrete, life-saving action.

AMR continues to rise at an alarming rate, undermining decades of medical advances. Antibiotics that once reliably treated everyday infections are becoming less effective due to drug-resistant pathogens. Current estimates show that more than one million deaths each year are directly linked to AMR, and experts warn the toll could increase sharply without decisive intervention.

AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines, making routine infections harder or impossible to treat and increasing the risk of severe illness, disease spread and death.

Dr. Yvan Hutin, WHO’s Director of Antimicrobial Resistance, highlighted the urgency of the situation. “All countries are faced with antimicrobial resistance. Drug-resistant pathogens are increasing everywhere, and the less access people have to prevention, diagnosis and appropriate treatment, the more likely they are to suffer from drug-resistant infections,” he said. “World AMR Awareness Week reminds us that protecting antimicrobials is a shared responsibility.”

This year’s global campaign builds on the commitment made at the 2024 UN High-Level Meeting on AMR, which resulted in a political declaration calling for stronger surveillance systems, wider access to high-quality medicines and diagnostics, accelerated innovation and more resilient human and animal health systems.

Because AMR affects people, animals, agriculture, food production and the environment, WHO emphasises the need for coordinated multisectoral action. World AMR Awareness Week encourages policymakers, health workers, veterinarians, farmers, researchers, wastewater and environmental professionals, civil society and communities to play a role in reducing drug resistance. Actions range from antimicrobial stewardship in hospitals to sustainable farming and waste management practices.

The campaign, marked annually from 18 to 24 November, aims to raise awareness, strengthen global action against drug-resistant pathogens and push for real steps to confront the threat. Advocacy and technical materials to support regional and local activities are available through the AMR Quadripartite organizations — WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

Organizers say global collaboration is essential to safeguard existing antimicrobial medicines and protect future generations. The message for 2025 is clear: without immediate and coordinated action, the world risks entering a post-antibiotic era where common infections once again become deadly.

Source: WHO