WHO Warns of Growing Global Antibiotic Resistance Threat in New Surveillance Report
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being | SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Institutions: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW)
The World Health Organization (WHO) released its Global antibiotic resistance surveillance report 2025, which underscores that Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) remains a growing global threat, undermining the effectiveness of life-saving medical treatments. Based on data from over 23 million bacteriologically confirmed cases (bloodstream, urinary tract, gastrointestinal, gonococcal infections) reported by 104 countries in 2023, the report covers 93 infection–pathogen–antibiotic combinations and tracks resistance trends from 2018 to 2023.
Key findings include rising resistance across multiple bacterial pathogens, with significant regional variation. The report introduces a new scoring framework to evaluate the completeness and quality of national AMR surveillance data. It also assesses progress in strengthening surveillance systems globally since 2016, and recommends priority actions,such as capacity building, data system upgrades, antimicrobial stewardship, and integration with One Health approaches.
The findings necessitate a renewed focus on strengthening India’s national AMR surveillance infrastructure (GLASS-India) and enforcing regulatory and legislative measures to curb the misuse of antibiotics across all sectors, in line with the national ‘One Health’ strategy, which links human, animal, and environmental health.
What is Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and why is it a global health crisis? → AMR occurs when microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites) evolve and become resistant to the medicines designed to kill them, rendering previously effective treatments useless. This phenomenon is categorized as a major threat because it undermines the efficacy of essential life-saving treatments, making routine medical procedures, common infections, and surgical interventions perilous.
Follow the full report here: Global antibiotic resistance surveillance report 2025