World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) is celebrated annually from 18 to 24 November. Dedicated to raising awareness about global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and promoting best practices, this event provides an excellent opportunity to showcase drive-AMS's unique approach to enhancing appropriate antimicrobial prescribing through the implementation of sustainable antimicrobial stewardship programs.
Dr. José-Artur Paiva is director of the Intensive Care Medicine Department at the Centro Hospitalar Universitário Sao Joao in Portugal. In this interview, he covers critical insights into the fight against antimicrobial resistance and the instrumental role of the drive-AMS project. Dr. Paiva's experiences and future plans underscore the importance of collaborative efforts and proactive strategies in combating this global health challenge.
Read our interview with Dr. Jeroen Schouten, intensivist at Radboud University Medical Center and project lead of drive-AMS. Jeroen discusses the work that has been done during the first months of the project, essential lessons learned and his future goals for drive-AMS.
On 6 June 2023, country leads of the drive-AMS partner institutions held an online meeting to discuss the progress of the project and any challenges faced during the first 6 months of implementation.
Last week, drive-AMS organised a Training of Trainers Course in Nijmegen, hosted by Radboudumc. The course combined their Dutch AMS Masterclass and the Global-PPS tool and expertise. The future trainers were taught how to guide professionals and policy makers through developing and implementing a successful Antimicrobial Stewardship Program in their hospital, healthcare system, region or even country.
On the 1st of November 2022, Radboud University Medical Centre (Radboudumc) and University of Antwerp joined forces to launch drive-AMS, a new project funded under the EU4Health Programme. This project aims to intensify antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes across the European Union by improving prudent antimicrobial use (AMU) and strengthening AMU surveillance, which are both key priorities of the EU One Health Action Plan on AMR.