World AMR Awareness Week runs November 18–24, 2026, a global push to keep antibiotics and other germ-fighting drugs working. The World Health Organization started it in 2015 and still leads it.
November 18 to 24, Every Year
Every year, from November 18 to 24. Those dates have held since 2018, after early campaigns moved around, such as November 13 to 19 in 2017.
In the United States, the CDC runs its own antibiotics week each November. WHO aims its campaign at the public and at policymakers. It also targets “One Health” groups, which work on human, animal and plant health together.
How the Week Took Shape
A plan came first. In May 2015, the Sixty-eighth World Health Assembly endorsed a global action plan on antimicrobial resistance.
One of its goals was better public awareness through education and training. WHO held the first World Antibiotic Awareness Week that November.
Its name has widened since. It became World Antimicrobial Awareness Week in 2020 and is now World AMR Awareness Week, covering drugs beyond antibiotics.
By 2010, the CDC was already holding its third annual Get Smart About Antibiotics Week, timed to match European Antibiotic Awareness Day.
Themes change yearly. The 2019 slogan was “The future of antibiotics depends on all of us,” and 2021 asked people to “Spread awareness, stop resistance.”
Why Resistance Matters
AMR, or antimicrobial resistance, happens when germs change and stop responding to medicines. Infections then become harder, or impossible, to treat.
U.S. numbers are large. More than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur each year, and more than 35,000 people die, CDC estimates.
Worldwide, resistance was linked to at least 1.27 million deaths in 2019 and nearly 5 million in all, a study in The Lancet found.
Overuse feeds the problem. In 2010, the CDC said about 50 percent of antibiotics were either not needed or not the right choice.
WHO’s newer figures are starker. Its July 2026 fact sheet says bacterial AMR was tied to more than 4.7 million deaths in 2021.
About 1 in 6 lab-confirmed bacterial infections worldwide resisted antibiotics in 2023. The rate hit 1 in 3 in WHO’s South-East Asia region, and in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The bill is huge as well. WHO projects US$412 billion a year in treatment costs through 2035, plus $443 billion a year in lost output.
Progress has slipped lately. The U.S. began losing ground in 2020, when the pandemic brought more resistant infections and more antibiotic use.
Countries have set a target. In 2024, the UN General Assembly agreed to cut bacterial AMR deaths by 10% by 2030.
This year’s theme, “One Health, One Action: Prevent AMR Now,” points to that shared push.
What You Can Do
- Don’t ask for antibiotics for a cold or the flu, since they don’t work on viruses.
- Take antibiotics exactly as prescribed and never share leftover pills.
- Share WHO’s campaign graphics with this year’s theme.
- Get recommended vaccines, which prevent infections before antibiotics are needed.
- Ask a pharmacist how to dispose of unused antibiotics safely.
- Read WHO’s antimicrobial resistance fact sheet, updated in July 2026, for the latest global numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is World AMR Awareness Week the same as U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week?
They overlap in November. WHO runs the global campaign, and the CDC leads the U.S. one.
How much is wasted on unnecessary antibiotics?
The CDC estimated more than $1.1 billion a year for adult respiratory infections alone.
Does the week change dates every year?
Not anymore. The fixed run started with the fourth campaign.
What was the 2025 theme?
“Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future.”