World Antibiotic Awareness Week, 13-19 November

It offers an outstanding opportunity for communities across the globe from all sectors – health, science, industry, the public – to raise awareness about the importance of better and appropriate use of antibiotics. BSAC and Antibiotic Action are delighted to join the concerted international efforts to reduce antibiotic resistance and ensure the availability of effective antibiotics now and in the future. During this important week BSAC will:

• Launch a major report during a Parliamentary debate to mark World Antibiotics Awareness Week (WAAW) 2017.  BSAC has joined forces with the members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Antibiotics to stage a Westminster Hall Debate on Thursday November 16.  The Chair, Julian Sturdy MP, will bring the report, ‘Implementing WHO, EU and UK AMR strategies and action plans: has the world lived up to the challenge?’, to the attention of the Government in a bid to seek support for some of the recommendations it makes.  Produced by Professor Laura Piddock, when she was the Director of Antibiotic Action, the report calls for policymakers to focus on more specific and measurable objectives, and to employ simpler language, among other things. A summary of it was published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases on Friday November 9
• Launching a free e-publication called ‘Making Resistance Futile: Moving Antimicrobial Resistance Policy into Action’, which was published on our behalf by Pan European Network and includes a contribution from the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease
• Publishing an article in the New Statesman on Friday November 17, alongside an article by the Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Dame Sally Davies
• Forming a partnership between our public engagement arm, Antibiotic Action, and GenerationR, a national young persons’ advisory body made up of local groups across the UK
• Promotion of BSAC and University of Dundee’s Massive Open Online Courses on Antimicrobial Stewardship – English, Mandarin and launch of the MOOC in Spanish
• Hosting of the 2nd AMR Market Lounge event, Wellcome Collection, London, Wednesday November 15
• Attending a meeting of the AMR Alliance at the British Veterinary Association in London
• Highlighting the benefits of being a BSAC member
• Supporting the activities of a range of other Societies and charities, as well as our network of Antibiotic Action champions who will be staging a series of events online and off line.

We invite you all to share our work and RT our tweets @TheUrgentNeed #WAAW2017
Together we will make the difference that is needed.