Political will, investment in surveillance and health systems against AMR

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) dominated discussions at the Seventy-eighth session of the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Regional Committee, held from October 13–15 in Colombo. Member States adopted a major resolution to strengthen national responses to AMR, coinciding with the release of WHO's Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Report 2025, which warns of growing global resistance to essential antibiotics. The new WHO report, launched on October 13, presents the most comprehensive analysis to date of antibiotic resistance trends worldwide. Based on data reported by over 100 countries through the WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS), it found that one in six bacterial infections globally in 2023 was resistant to common antibiotic treatments. Between 2018 and 2023, resistance increased in over 40 per cent of pathogen-antibiotic combinations, with annual rises of 5–15 per cent.

- By Narayan Kulkarni, Editor

The report covers resistance across 22 essential antibiotics used to treat infections of the urinary and gastrointestinal tracts, the bloodstream, and gonorrhoea, focusing on eight major pathogens. These bacteria are responsible for some of the most common and severe infections worldwide. The burden is highest in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where AMR surveillance coverage, microbiological diagnostic capacity, and access to effective alternative treatments may be limited—resulting in a syndemic of resistance and weak health systems that disproportionately impact the most vulnerable populations.