Freetown, 24 November 2021 – In commemoration of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2021, WHO in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation marked the week with several activities aimed at raising awareness of the global public emergency threat of antimicrobial resistance, which is projected to kill 10 million people by 2050.

The 2021 theme: Spread Awareness, Stop Resistance, calls on One Health stakeholders, policymakers, health care providers, and the general public to be Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Awareness champions.

Setting off the commemoration, the AMR stakeholders meeting for the media, civil society and academia attracted some of the most vibrant civil society organizations in Sierra Leone, high caliber educators and a very good number of journalists, media practitioners and media outlet executives and students.

Speaking to the media practitioners and civil society organizations representatives at the meeting, Dr. Sam Kanu, the AMR lead at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation stated the objectives of the meeting.

“The objectives of this meeting is to make AMR a globally recognized issue with engagement of all sectors - human, animal, plant and environment, a 'One Health approach; to raise awareness of the need to protect antimicrobial efficacy through prudent and responsible use; to increase recognition of the roles that individuals, governments and organizations must all play in tackling antimicrobial resistance, and to provide a platform for researchers to present their AMR research findings.” Said Dr. Kanu.

An interactive session followed with the media practitioners fully engaged; learning more about antimicrobial resistance from the scientists and health professionals and asking the pertinent questions that the public will need answered.

The AMR team also embarked on an awareness raising exercise which brought AMR fellows and experts to a television talk shows and 3 radio programmes to explain in simple terms the seriousness of the AMR pandemic the world is grappling with.

Speaking on the role of the media and journalists in combating AMR, Dr. Ibrahim F. Kamara encouraged the media to use their platform to raise awareness of the looming dangers of living in an antimicrobial resistant world.