Setting a realistic AWaRe target for primary care antibiotic use in LMICs.

We welcome the WHO AWaRe (Access/Watch/Reserve) Antibiotic Book, released on Dec 9, 2022. Sharland and colleagues1 proposed two antibiotic use targets that could support its introduction and the evaluation of its effectiveness, as follows: 90% of infections requiring an antibiotic in primary health care can be treated with oral Access antibiotics rather than broad spectrum Watch antibiotics and more than 50% of minor infections can be treated without antibiotics. In low-income and middle-income countries, use of Watch antibiotics has been rapidly increasing,2 yet after careful clinical evaluation, three-quarters of Watch antibiotics could be discontinued or replaced by Access antibiotics.