Data released this week for World AMR Awareness Week show that Greece leads the EU both in antibiotic consumption and in antimicrobial resistance.

According to 2023 data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), antimicrobial consumption (AMC) in Greece, reached 28.5 daily defined doses (DDD) per 1,000 inhabitants. Community use stood at 26.7 DDD per 1,000 inhabitants per day, far exceeding recommended limits.

World AMR Awareness Week, a World Health Organization (WHO) campaign running through to November 24, aims to raise global awareness and encourage action against the spread of drug-resistant pathogens. This year’s theme is “Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future”.

A Kapa Research survey conducted earlier this year for the Athens Medical Association found that 75% of adults and 48% of children and teens use antibiotics, while one in four obtains them without a doctor’s prescription.

Greece has ranked first in antibiotic consumption across the EU since 2011.

Stathis Skliros, President of the Hellenic Society for Research and Education in Primary Health Care, warned that more than 3% of the population takes antibiotics daily, surpassing safe thresholds. He stressed that the “first line of defence” lies within clinics and communities. AMR, he noted, is “not a hospital phenomenon but a social one”, requiring collective responsibility and a shift in attitudes toward medication.

Underscoring the urgency, research published in The Lancet estimates that by 2050, more than 39 million people could die from infections caused by multidrug-resistant microbes. Without immediate action, that figure could rise to 169 million.

Across the EU, AMR already claims more than 35,000 lives each year. A global action plan to combat resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines was endorsed by the World Health Assembly in 2015. A key objective remains improving awareness and understanding of AMR through effective communication, education, and training.