WHO AWaRe Antibiotic Book: A Guide to Rational Use of Antibiotics

The WHO AWaRe Antibiotic Book, published by the World Health Organization (WHO), provides guidance on the rational use of antibiotics based on the Access, Watch, Reserve (AWaRe) classification system. The book outlines prescribing standards to help prevent antibiotic resistance and ensure effective antimicrobial therapy.

Objectives of the AWaRe Classification

  • Access: First-line antibiotics with proven efficacy and lower risk of resistance development.
  • Watch: Antibiotics with higher resistance potential, requiring careful monitoring of use.
  • Reserve: Last-resort antibiotics, intended for the treatment of severe, multi-resistant infections only

License

License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
Cataloguing-in-Publication (CIP) data available at: http://apps.who.int/iris

Download the Book

Download link for the WHO AWaRe Antibiotic Book:
Download WHO AWaRe Antibiotic Book (PDF)
Geneva: World Health Organization; 2022.