ReAct activities for World AMR Awareness Week 2024

2024-11-13

In recognition of World AMR Awareness Week 2024, ReAct presents a series of initiatives to address antibiotic resistance worldwide. These efforts are designed to raise awareness, encourage responsible antibiotic use, and inspire action across healthcare, agriculture and community sectors. Through global collaboration, ReAct highlights the urgent need for strong and robust action on antibiotic resistance to preserve the effectiveness of life-saving antibiotics. ReAct also joins the World Health Organization "Go-blue for AMR" campaign. You can find all ReAct World AMR Awareness Week activities below.

18-19 November, Kenya. Youth Competition. ReAct Africa and the Ministry of Health Kenya will host the annual Youth Innovation Competition in Kenya. This year, the top entries will be announced at the National World AMR Awareness Week Launch and Scientific Symposium in Nairobi. The winners will receive cash prizes, trophies and certificates.The launch and symposium will be the culmination of weeks of planning meetings which ReAct Africa has been part of, and has specifically been engaged with as part of the Youth platform sub-committee and the Scientific Symposium sub-committee.

20-21 November, Nyeri, Kenya. Antimicrobial Stewardship Support. ReAct Africa will support and collaborate with the Nyeri County Antimicrobial Stewardship Interagency Committee (CASIC) to conduct a midterm review of its One Health AMR workvplan during this year’s World AMR Awareness Week activities.
To culminate the county WAAW engagement, ReAct Africa will also participate in an awareness-raising session during the health talks sessions in the planned Peniel Evangelistic Football event, to raise AMR awareness and understanding on AMR and the need for appropriate antimicrobial use amongst the community.

21 November, Ndola, Zambia. Youth Engagement Zambia, ReAct is speaking on Youth Engagement at the World AMR Awareness Week Youth Symposium hosted by Zambia National Public Health Institute and WHO Zambia.

22 November, Ndola, Zambia. Youth Engagement Zambia, ReAct Africa in collaboration with Zambia National Public Health Institute will host an AMR awareness meeting  in Ndola, Zambia. This meeting will target150 students from 3 universities.

24 November, Lusaka, Zambia. Community AMR Champions Skit. Ten of the AMR Champions undergoing training will present an AMR Awareness Skit for about 1500 congregants at Matero United Church of Zambia in Lusaka. The skit will focus on common antimicrobial resistance drivers such as misuse and overuse of antimicrobials.

16 November, India. Youth Engagement. Address the students at Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, Delhi with the support of Health Volunteers India.

17 November, Delhi, India. AMR Roundtable. This roundtable is jointly organized by ReAct Asia Pacific and the Indian Medical Association. The meeting will address the significance of the UNGA Political Declaration and India’s role in addressing AMR.

20 November, India. AMR Conclave 2024. Strengthening One Health Action Plan. The event will be organized by the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, Thrissur, Kerala Veterinary & Animal Sciences University and ReAct Asia Pacific.

21 November. Webinar. A webinar will be co-organized by WHO SEARO and ReAct Asia Pacific with the theme: Your Voice, Your Impact: Global Youth Consultation on AMR. Click for link to register.

22 November, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Multi-stakeholder meeting. ReAct will host a multi-stakeholder meeting in Bangalore, Karnataka in collaboration with Bangalore Bio Innovation Center.

22-24 November, India. Youth Forum. Dr Salman Khan, ReAct Asia Pacific will join as a speaker at the AMR and Youth Forum – Middle East.

23 November. Online Session. ReAct Asia Pacific will host an awareness session for the Indian Space Research Organization on the theme “Educate, Advocate, Act Now”.

23-24 November, India. Engage medical students.Indian Medical Association is arranging a Medical Students network Youth Event. ReAct Asia Pacific will host a session on AMR and Youth Engagement for medical students IMA-MSN East Zone Conclave in Orissa, India.

26-28 November, Putrajaya, Malaysia. World Organization Animal Health Regional Representation for Asia and the Pacific (WOAH RRAP) will host a Regional Workshop for Focal Points for Communication in Asia and the Pacific. Vida Parady, ReAct Asia Pacific will be a speaker and facilitator. The workshop is a part of WOAH’s global program of capacity building for WOAH Delegates and WOAH National Focal Points. She will deliver the training on Community engagement: working with media.

ReAct is proud to announce its participation in the just released Independent Television News (ITN) Business program, Defending Our Health: Unravelling Antimicrobial Resistance, which aims to address the urgent global threat of antibiotic resistance. The program was released the day before the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR in New York on September 26th, underscoring the need for a unified global response. Read more and access the program and the ReAct film.

23 October, Uppsala, Sweden. Community engagement workshop for students. Workshop for 22 international students at the Master’s program in Infection Biology from a global perspective at Uppsala university, Sweden.The students ranked challenges to community engagement and discussed activities to support community-friendly and inclusive narratives to improve understanding of antibiotic resistance. Many creative ideas were raised including the “antibiotic free dinner” – inviting community members to a free meal to discuss matters of importance to them and antibiotic resistance.

19 November. Webinar. Antibiotic Smart Sweden, where ReAct Europe is one of the partners. If you are curious about Antibiotic Smart Sweden’s work this is a webinar for you. You will be able to take part in presentations and panel discussions and join the conversation via chat or conference app. Meeting will be held in Swedish. Click to register (in Swedish), last day Monday 18 November.

ReAct Europe will join the Antibiotikaforum day for the Swedish National coordination function for AMR as the node is a member. The coordination group is led by the Swedish Public Health Agency and the Swedish Board of Agriculture.

Podcast guest. Andrea Caputo, ReAct Europe will be a podcast guest in the European Health Management Association pod. Theme: The role of communities in tackling the AMR challenge”.

The podcast highlights the urgent challenge of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and the crucial role of local communities in addressing it. It emphasizes the need for education, sustainable practices, and better antibiotic use to slow down resistance. Successful community initiatives from ReAct’s global network demonstrate the power of community-driven solutions. The “From People to Leaders: Act on AMR NOW!” campaign, launched in anticipation of the United Nations General Assembly and aimed at bridging the gap between community actions and high-level decision-making, underscores the importance of amplifying community voices to influence global AMR policy.

13 November – 20 December. Compic strip competition.  Jóvenes y Ecosistemas Latinoamérica is launching the open competition JE-RAM COMIC CHALLENGE. This initiative aims to engage Latin American children, adolescents, and young adults in raising awareness and promoting scientific knowledge about the prevention and control of drug resistance and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the region.

Participants are invited to create a comic in a free format, contributing to this cause through a creative literary work. Submissions and promotional activities will take place between November 13 and 28, 2024. The deadline for submitting entries is December 12, 2024.

The winners will be officially announced on December 15, 2024, through Jóvenes y Ecosistemas Latinoamérica’s and ReAct Latin America’s public media platforms. Awards will be distributed by December 20, 2024.

20-21 November, Rosario, Argentina. The campaign “For a Future without Untreatable Infections: Let’s Learn, Care and Act.” This campaign aims  to raise the social awareness about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and promote responsible use of antibiotics, especially among young people, families and health professionals. It includes an interview in local radio, publication of an article in a newspaper, dissemination of educational content in social channels and a community activity with an information-stand in a public space. This campaign involves the Instituto de Salud Socioambiental of the Medical Sciences of the National University of Rosario, the Medical Union of Santa fe province and ReAct Latin America. Efforts are underway to involve more organizations.

29 November, El Salvador. Second Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance from the One Health approach: Bacteria as seeds of life. The meeting consists of a symposium, with presentations by researchers who will provide data on AMR to raise awareness about this global health challenge among medical, veterinary and biology students. The meeting is supported by the University of El Salvador, and its Biology Department and is organized as part of the project “Antimicrobial Resistance: Microbiome, Animal Health and Food Safety” implemented in El Salvador between the Foundation for Economic Development and Environmental Restoration (FUNDESYRAM) and ReAct Latin America.

21 November, Ecuador. Encounter of children on rational use of antibiotics and the microbial world. Through games, children from INEBHYE School in Cuenca, will study AMR and its different facets: the use of antibiotics on food production and human health. This activity is part of several encounters with the Alforja Educativa, one the education projects of ReAct Latin America. In the near future, there will be a virtual exchange of experiences between Ecuadorian and Argentinian children.

21, 27-29 November, Ecuador. “Art for Life: United on Bacterial Resistance” campaign. The Central University of Ecuador, in collaboration with the Ecuadorian Corporation for the Development of Research and Academia, will launch an initiative to raise awareness about bacterial resistance. This will be done through digital and face-to-face meetings and by involving the university community throughout the country.

21 November. Webinar. “Super Bacteria: The Invisible Challenge of the 21st Century” with several university speakers. Link to register for the webinar will be added here.

27-28 November. There will be an artistic exhibition on responsible use of antibiotics, prevention of infectious diseases and AMR in a public space inside the Central University.  This campaign is supported by Excellensis, Pegasus and ReAct Latin America networks.

19-20 November, Bolivia. Sample analysis.  Blood and stool sample collection campaign in 150 children from Senka Schools, El Alto, for nutrition and parasite analysis. Research Institute of the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz.

20 November, Bolivia. Class room training. “The silent pandemic of AMR in Bolivia. consequences of the inappropriate use of antibiotics in animal food production and zoonoses”. Classroom training organized by the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, and the Medical College of Public Health.

20 November, Bolivia. Webinar. Webinar on the impacts of the inappropriate use of antibiotics in intensive animal husbandry. Students, professors and deans of the Public University of El Alto will participate.

21 November. Community Health Fair at the entrance of the Health Center La Ceja, El Alto city. Tents with information about AMR, handing out of flyers on good antibiotic use, collection of expired antibiotics, presentation of an artistic batucada to encourage community participation.

21 November. Multi-sectoral dialogue: Impacts of the use of antibiotics in intensive animal husbandry. presentation of the book “Hagamos historia, contando nuestras historias” on AMR, exhibition of the Photoresistance Project (stories about AMR told through photographs). Participants include meat traders from El Alto, the meat food surveillance network INLASA and the municipality of El Alto. This event is organized by Autonomous Municipal Government of El Alto, Health Action Front, Jacha Auditorium of the Autonomous Municipal Government of El Alto, and supported by ReAct Latin America.

21 November. Training on AMR and good use of antibiotics for health personnel. Jacha Auditorium of the Autonomous Municipal Government of El Alto.

As part of the III Symposium of Scientific Research 2024 at the National University of Loja (UNL), the training workshop titled “Alforja Educativa: School Health and the Microbial World – Child-to-Child Strategy: A Bridge Between Health and Education” will be held.

This workshop is designed for health professionals, educators, students, social organizations, communicators, and artists. It aims to foster an interdisciplinary approach to addressing antibiotic resistance.

Forum for students. The National University of the Altiplano in Puno will host a forum for students and faculty on AMR as a global socio-environmental health issue. The forum will emphasize the importance of understanding how the misuse of antibiotics in human healthcare and animal farming contributes to the spread of AMR through water, waste, and food.

21 November. High-level intersectorial dialoge. Colombia’s Intersectoral Technical Roundtable on Antimicrobial Resistance will bring together key government entities, including the Ministries of Health and Social Protection (MSPS), Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), and Environment and Sustainable Development (MADS), along with their affiliated agencies. Supported by PAHO/WHO and FAO, the event will feature an intersectoral dialogue on AMR with representatives from Colombian social organizations.

The dialogue aims to raise awareness about AMR and encourage responsible practices across human health, animal health, agribusiness, and environmental sectors, aligning with the “One Health” approach. The event will take place from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Radisson Bogotá Metrotel.