This year marks the 7th year that the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) is joining the world to observe World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW). The theme for 2025, as stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), is “Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future”.
WAAW, which is a global campaign observed annually between November 18th – 24th, aims to raise awareness and increase understanding of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and to promote action across the world to fight the emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. According to the WHO, AMR represents a major global threat across the human, animal, plant, food and environmental sectors. AMR occurs when pathogens no longer respond to antimicrobial agents. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics become ineffective and infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.
Notably, a quadripartite (four-party) group of organizations, namely the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), continue to join forces to fight against AMR which is one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity.
Likewise, the Ministry of Health and Human Services (MoHHS), TCI acknowledges the significance of WAAW and continues to lead a multiple stakeholder group to bring awareness to AMR to every resident in the TCI. The group of multiple stakeholders include the public, One Health stakeholders (healthcare providers, farmers, animal health professionals) and policymakers, who all play a critical role in reducing the further emergence and spread of AMR.
In support of WAAW 2025, Hon. Kyle Knowles, Minister of Health and Human Services stated that:
“The MoHHS and by extension the TCI joins the global community in observing World AMR Awareness Week 2025 by fully supporting the theme ‘Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future’. As such, I would like to remind all TCI residents that together we can all help to fight AMR. AMR is not tomorrow’s problem because drug-resistant infections are already here. Hence, any delay to act may cost lives. Therefore, the MoHHS understands the need to prioritise and invest in a national AMR action plan with defined roles and dedicated resources across all sectors.”
With a sustained collaboration across sectors to preserve the effectiveness of critical medicines known as antimicrobials to effectively reduce AMR, the MoHHS, by way of its draft national action plan, continues to work with a team of health professionals from various sectors to tackle this very serious problem and continues on the journey to:
- improve the awareness and understanding of AMR,
- strengthen knowledge through surveillance and research,
- reduce the incidence of infection and
- improve the use of antimicrobial medicines.
The following events are being planned for the week of November 18th – 24th:
- Continuing education for healthcare professionals on November 18, 2025.
- Setting up of information tables for public viewing at both TCI Hospitals/InterHealth Canada venues.
- Sharing of information on the MoHHS’ social media pages
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tciministryofhealth/
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/tci_health
- In-person AMR presentations will be conducted at a few locations.
