The world faces an accelerating threat of antibiotic resistance, as exposed by a new global report, which revealed a disturbing rise in treatment-resistant infections, exposing critical gaps in health systems worldwide.
Released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) through its 2025 Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS), the findings reveal a critical health emergency that substantially defies medical innovation, stretching public health infrastructure.
Aggregating data from over 100 countries, the report shows that one in six bacterial infections confirmed in laboratories during 2023 were resistant to standard antibiotic treatments.
According to the report, this indicates an enormous surge in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with resistance rising between 5% and 15% annually from 2018 to 2023 across key drug-pathogen combinations.
Antibiotic Resistance Hotspots
Findings show that the emergency is more prevalent in Southeast Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, where resistance was found in nearly one-third of infections.
Next is Africa, which followed closely, with one in five infections showing resistance. Resistance in Escherichia coli surpassed 70% in some African regions, leaving clinicians with no option but to resort to expensive, inaccessible antibiotics.
Dr Yvan Hutin, WHO’s Director of Antimicrobial Resistance, warned that the over-dependency on these final-line treatments is unsustainable. He expressed during the press briefing that, “We’re running out of options, especially in countries with limited access to diagnostics and effective medicines.”
Weak Surveillance
The report noted disparities in surveillance capability, despite improvements in global tracking. Nearly half of the WHO states’ members declined to submit AMR data in 2024, even as GLASS’ participation expanded from 25 countries in 2016 to 104 by 2023.
Africa recorded the lowest data coverage in 2024, highlighting the susceptibility of regions with fragile health infrastructure.
Dr Silvia Bertagnolio, Head of AMR Surveillance at WHO, emphasised that countries most worried by resistance often do not possess the infrastructure to monitor it.
She said, “Without strong surveillance, resistance spreads unchecked,” urging governments to collaborate with the AMR data targets of the WHO by 2030.
The GLASS platform now comprises over 23 million confirmed infection records, making it the most comprehensive global database on antibiotic resistance.
Meanwhile, Bertagnolio warned that data quality and representativeness remain irregular, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
Implications, Need for Coordinated Action
Unchecked resistance indicates devastating circumstances. Ordinary infections, which can easily be treated at present, will demand expensive medications, heaping more burden on the already weakened health systems.
The WHO report requires immediate updates to national treatment guidelines and essential medicines lists, tailored to local resistance patterns.
GLASS, launched in 2015, aimed to enable the building of strong AMR surveillance systems and harmonise reporting.
One hundred thirty-eight countries and three territories had joined the initiative by the end of 2024, with expanded digital tools now offering public dashboards, regional summaries, and country-specific profiles.
As the rising tide of antimicrobial resistance creates tension for the global health community, the latest findings by WHO emphasise the importance of coordinated action, investment in diagnostics, and equitable access to effective treatments.
The crisis stares the world in the face; it only needs collaboration to respond effectively.