WHO launched a new online tool known as ‘AWaRe’ to promote safer use of antibiotics. The tool ‘AWaRe’
classifies antibiotics into three groups –
1) Access — antibiotics used to treat the most common and serious infections,
2) Watch — antibiotics available at all times in the healthcare system,
3) c)Reserve — antibiotics to be used sparingly or preserved and used only as a last resort
The tool is aimed at guiding policy-makers and health workers to use antibiotics safely and more effectively. It also seeks to limit drugs that are at risk of resistance. It seeks to achieve a 60% increase in the use of antibiotics under the Access group which are cheap drugs that target a specific microorganism rather than several.