Dr Paul Owusu Donkor
The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) has commemorated the 2025 World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week (WAAW), which begun yesterday Tuesday, November 18 and will last till Monday, November 24 2025.
This year’s theme, “Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future,” is a call to urgent collective action to safeguard the effectiveness of antimicrobials and ensure a healthier future for all.
A press release signed by the president of PSGH, Dr. Paul Owusu Donkor, explained that Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites develop resistance over time, rendering them no longer responsive to medicines, making infections harder or impossible to treat.
It also explained that the effects of AMR include prolonged illness, increased healthcare costs, disability, and death, adding that it threatens modern medicine and endangers essential procedures such as surgeries, cancer therapy, childbirth, and the management of chronic illnesses.
The release added that in 2015, the World Health Assembly (WHA) endorsed the Global Action Plan on AMR, highlighting the need for awareness, stronger stewardship and the responsible use of antimicrobials.
“WAAW provides a vital platform to remind governments, health professionals, the agriculture sector, policymakers, and the general public of their shared responsibility in combating AMR,” the statement read.
The PSGH also noted that it had championed public education, Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS), and advocacy efforts nationwide through its regional branches, practice groups, and collaborative partnerships, as it continues to support initiatives aimed at reducing the emergence and spread of AMR.
“As the umbrella body of pharmacists in Ghana, the PSGH has consistently championed public education, antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), and advocacy efforts across the nation. Through its regional branches, practice groups, and collaborative partnerships, the PSGH continues to support initiatives aimed at reducing the emergence and spread of AMR,” it noted.
It further revealed that in 2018-2019, the PSGH played a role in securing the country’s participation in the first Commonwealth Partnership for Antimicrobial Stewardship (CwPAMS), implemented by the Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET) and the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association (CPA).
“This initiative has since expanded, training numerous pharmacists and healthcare professionals as AMR Stewards, Champions and Fellows and strengthening AMS systems in health facilities nationwide,” it included.
By Vera Owusu Sarpong