GNV News 2025/4/18

In 2022, a large-scale study released in 4/2025 revealed that more than 3 million children worldwide died from antimicrobial resistance (AMR)-related infections. The impact was especially severe in Southeast Asia and Africa: in Southeast Asia, about 752,000 children, and in Africa, about 659,000 children died due to AMR-related causes.

AMR is a phenomenon in which microorganisms such as bacteria develop resistance to drugs like antibiotics, rendering conventional treatments ineffective. Antibiotics are inherently effective for treating infections, but overuse and misuse, as well as delays in developing new drugs, have allowed some bacteria to become drug-resistant. Development of new antibiotics for children has especially lagged, further limiting treatment options for pediatric patients.

This study found that “Watch” antibiotics (drugs with a high risk of driving resistance) and “Reserve” antibiotics (the last line for multidrug-resistant infections) were involved in many deaths. Over the 3 years from 2019 to 2021, use of “Watch” antibiotics increased by 160% in Southeast Asia and by 126% in Africa, and use of “Reserve” antibiotics rose by 45% in Southeast Asia and by 125% in Africa. Of all child deaths worldwide, 2 million were associated with the use of these antibiotics.

The background to the spread of AMR includes hospital overcrowding, poor sanitation, inadequate infection prevention, excessive and inappropriate use of antibiotics due to limited diagnostics and concerns about misdiagnosis, and insufficient national surveillance and antimicrobial stewardship programs. These problems are particularly acute in low- and middle-income countries, where there is a high risk that treatment options will narrow further. The World Health Organization (WHO) and experts warn that the rapid rise of AMR will make future treatments more difficult and lead to higher mortality. Strengthening surveillance through international and regional cooperation, appropriate use of antimicrobials, vaccination, and improvements in hygiene are an urgent priority.

Learn more about drug-resistant infections worldwide → “Is an era when antibiotics no longer work just around the corner?”

Antibiotics (Photo: Sheep purple / Flickr [CC BY 2.0])