To preserve their public health benefits, the responsible and prudent use of antimicrobials needs to be improved in all sectors – human, animal and environment. In particular, antimicrobials that are medically important for human medicine need to be preserved by reducing their use in the non-human sectors.
That’s why the WHO publishes the list of medically important antimicrobials for human medicine (WHO MIA List). It’s a risk management tool that can be used to support decision-making to minimize the impact of antimicrobial use in non-human sectors on antimicrobial resistance in humans. The WHO MIA List is created to guide international, national, and subnational antimicrobial stewardship efforts
The list categorizes antimicrobial classes based on their importance for human medicine and according to the AMR risk and potential human health implications of their use in non-human sectors. The publication is intended to serve as a reference tool to support decision-making by national regulators and policymakers in ministries of health and agriculture, authorities responsible for regulating, monitoring, and assuring the responsible and prudent use of antimicrobials, and professional prescribers in different sectors.
