11/11/22
The WHO AWaRe Antibiotic Book: providing guidance on optimal use and informing policy
Sharland M, Cappello B, Ombajo LA, Bazira J, Chitatanga R, Chuki P, Gandra S, Harbarth S, Loeb M, Mendelson M, Moja L, Pulcini C, Tacconelli E, Zanichelli V, Zeng M, Huttner BD
The 2022 G7 committed to “define national measurable targets” for human antibiotic use “including both volume and appropriateness when possible”. The WHO 13th General Programme of Work defined a target that at least 60% of human antibiotic use at the country level should be Access antibiotics. The WHO AWaRe system (Access/Watch/Reserve) provides a simple framework to group antibiotics into categories for stewardship. The 2021 Model List of Essential Medicines (EML) includes 20 Access, 11 Watch and eight Reserve antibiotics. More than 250 antibiotics used for human treatment globally have now been categorised into Access, Watch, or Reserve groups and these AWaRe categories could also be applied across One Health sectors...