Achievements of the Belgian Antibiotic Policy Coordination Committee (BAPCOC)

A Belgian Antibiotic Policy Coordination Committee (BAPCOC) was officially established in 1999 by Royal Decree. The overall objective of BAPCOC is to promote judicious use of antibiotics in humans and animals and to promote infection control and hospital hygiene, with the overall aim to reduce antibiotic resistance. BAPCOC fostered strong and interdisciplinary public health, scientific and political leadership, which led to many evidence-based interventions such as multimedia campaigns to promote the prudent use of antibiotics in the community, national campaigns to promote hand hygiene in hospitals, publication of clinical practice guidelines, staffing and technical support for establishment of antibiotic management teams in all Belgian hospitals, surveillance programmes on antibiotic use and resistance in humans and animals and the promotion of research. These activities and interventions resulted in a measurable decrease in antibiotic use and resistance in the community and hospitals.