Two out of three patients in the hospitals receive antibiotics before and often without the culture tests.
On 17 April, the Public Health Centre of Ukraine presented the results of the 2025 monitoring of antibiotic use across Ukrainian health facilities. The monitoring tracks compliance with the national standard on rational antibiotic use, measuring prescribing against the WHO AWaRe classification — Access, Watch, Reserve. The numbers are not optimistic.
| Indicator | Actual | Target | Shortfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| ● Access — first-line antibiotics, should dominate | |||
| Primary care | 65% | ≥95% | 30% below target |
| Hospitals | 46% | >60% | 14% below target |
| ● Watch — second line only, when first-line fails | |||
| Primary care | 29% | <5% | 24% over the limit |
| Hospitals | 34.4% | <40% | Within target |
| ● Reserve — last resort only, confirmed resistant infections | |||
| Primary care | 5.8% | Exceptional only | Overused |
| Specialised care | 17.8% | Exceptional only | Overused |
| ● Bacteriological testing before prescribing | |||
| Hospitalised patients | 33% | Required | 67% of patients not tested |
Strengthening infection prevention and control (IPC) in Ukrainian facilities remains one of the key structural responses to resistance spread — a topic we will cover in a dedicated piece on the evidence-based IPC measures that make a measurable difference in inpatient settings.
A full analysis — including the strategic context of the national AMR strategy to 2030 and what the data means for programme design — is forthcoming.