By Dr Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge, WHO South-East Asia Region<\/p>\n
PM Modi warns of the threat from antimicrobial resistance<\/strong><\/p>\n In December 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a timely warning about one of the most serious yet under-recognised global health threats: antimicrobial resistance (AMR). PM Modi alerted that AMR threatens to undo decades of progress in modern medicine\u2014not only in India, but worldwide.<\/p>\n What PM Modi Said<\/strong><\/p>\n PM Modi highlighted antimicrobial resistance as a critical public health challenge for the years ahead. Antibiotics, long considered our strongest defence against infectious diseases, are steadily losing their effectiveness. Misuse and overuse have accelerated resistance, making once-treatable infections harder\u2014 even impossible\u2014to cure.<\/p>\n The Prime Minister emphasised that the impact of AMR extends far beyond individual illnesses. It undermines health systems, worsens outcomes across multiple diseases, and poses a significant global risk. India\u2019s high-level commitment to addressing AMR comes at a crucial moment, as countries prepare to highlight the issue at upcoming international forums, including the AMR Summit in Sydney, scheduled for 18\u201320 February 2026, and a joint conference organised by the Government of Japan and the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions.<\/p>\n Why This Warning Matters: What Experts Say<\/strong><\/p>\n Health experts and global institutions have strongly endorsed PM Modi\u2019s remarks, calling the renewed national focus on AMR long overdue. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has repeatedly warned that AMR is compromising the prevention and treatment of major communicable diseases.<\/p>\n Diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and several neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are increasingly difficult to treat due to multidrug resistance. According to the Global AMR Surveillance and Use System (GLASS) 2025 report, resistance levels worldwide are alarmingly high. One in six laboratory-con\ufb01rmed bacterial infections globally is linked to drug-resistant pathogens. In South-East Asia, the situation is even more severe, with nearly one in three infections showing resistance.<\/p>\n How India Plans to Tackle the AMR Challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n India\u2019s National Strategy to Fight AMR (2025\u20132029) could be a blueprint for broader adaption for a comprehensive roadmap to address this growing threat. The strategy includes clear timelines, dedicated budgets, and de\ufb01ned responsibilities across more than 20 ministries\u2014highlighting the scale and seriousness of the response.<\/p>\n At it\u2019s core is a One Health approach, recognizing that antimicrobial resistance is in\ufb02uenced by interconnected factors across human health, animal health, agriculture, and the environment. The extensive use of antimicrobials in livestock, aquaculture, and crop production\u2014particularly in South-East Asia\u2014has been identi\ufb01ed as a major driver of resistant microorganisms.<\/p>\n The Strategy also considers the evidence on environmental factors. The spread of resistant genes and pathogens is closely linked to the triple planetary crisis: climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Together, these forces create conditions that allow resistance to emerge and spread more rapidly.<\/p>\n The Strategy is reinforced by two critical actions for implementation:<\/p>\n Leadership at the Highest Level to combat a silent pandemic<\/strong><\/p>\n By taking up the AMR challenge at the highest political level, PM Modi has signalled that antimicrobial resistance is not just a medical issue, but a national and global priority. The in\ufb02uences on AMR are increasing and complex, requiring coordinated action across sectors as well as among providers and patients. The call from Sydney and Tokyo must be for sustained political commitment and strong multi-sector\/stakeholder stewardship from health ministries to combat what is a rapidly increasing silent pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Dr Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge, WHO South-East Asia Region PM Modi warns of the threat…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":919,"featured_media":2613,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[77755,16246,16247,24205,8317],"class_list":["post-2612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-amr","tag-global-health","tag-health-policy","tag-health-systems","tag-policy","odd"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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