Why Is AMR a Global Threat?

Imagine a world where a bacterial infection contracted during routine surgery becomes impossible to treat. Where pneumonia — curable today with a few days of antibiotics — once again becomes a death sentence. This is not science fiction: it is the scenario we are moving toward if we do not seriously address antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

What Is AMR?

AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites adapt to the drugs designed to fight them, rendering those drugs ineffective. It is a natural process, but human activities have dramatically accelerated it: the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in medicine, veterinary care, and agriculture has created ideal conditions for the selection and spread of resistant microorganisms. By the end of 2025, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections is already resistant to standard treatments.

The Numbers Behind a Silent Crisis

The data are unambiguous. In 2021, 1.14 million people died directly as a result of AMR worldwide, while another 4.71 million deaths were associated with drug-resistant infections (GRAM Project / The Lancet, 2024). Future projections are even more alarming: between 2025 and 2050, an estimated 39 million deaths will be directly attributable to bacterial resistance — equivalent to three deaths every minute for twenty-five years.

In Europe alone, AMR is responsible for more than 35,000 deaths per year, with a public health impact comparable to that of influenza, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS combined (ECDC data). The burden falls hardest on the most vulnerable: the elderly, immunocompromised patients, and newborns. Between 1990 and 2021, AMR deaths in adults over 70 increased by more than 80% — a trend set to worsen as global populations age.

Beyond a Health Problem

AMR has profound economic and societal consequences. The World Bank estimates that, without effective action, antimicrobial resistance could erode 3.8% of global GDP annually by 2050 and push 28 million people into poverty. Additional healthcare costs could reach $1 trillion per year globally.

When drugs stop working, the ripple effects are wide-reaching: hospital stays lengthen, cancer treatments and organ transplants become riskier, and routine surgeries turn into high-stakes procedures. According to the OECD, one in five bacterial infections in member countries is already resistant to antibiotic treatment.

A Borderless Threat: The One Health Approach

Bacteria do not respect national borders. Resistance genes circulate between humans, animals, and the environment through food chains, wastewater, intensive livestock farming, and international travel. This is why AMR cannot be tackled through clinical medicine alone: it requires an integrated approach known as One Health, coordinating human health, animal health, and environmental protection.

Hospital-acquired resistant infections are particularly dangerous: they account for just over 30% of all resistant cases, yet are responsible for more than 60% of AMR-related deaths (OECD data). Three bacteria — Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus — are responsible for nearly three-quarters of these deaths.

A Shrinking Drug Pipeline

Adding to the concern is the shortage of new antibiotics in development. Over the past five years, the pharmaceutical pipeline dedicated to AMR has shrunk by 35%: according to a 2026 report by the Access to Medicine Foundation, major pharmaceutical companies now have only 60 active projects, down from 92 in 2021. Without new effective drugs, acquired resistance could render even existing molecules useless.

What Can We Do?

The good news is that concrete tools exist to reverse the trend. The WHO has launched an updated global action plan for 2026–2036, and G7 and G20 governments have placed AMR among their international public health priorities. The OECD calculates that investing just €1.50 per person per year in prevention and surveillance measures would prevent 27,000 deaths and save €1.4 billion every year in EU/EEA countries alone.

Individual behavior matters too: using antibiotics only when prescribed, always completing a course of treatment, not purchasing them without a prescription, and reducing consumption of animal products from farms that use antimicrobials heavily. AMR is a collective threat that demands a collective response — and every choice, even the most everyday one, can make a difference.

Main sources: GRAM Project / The Lancet (2024); WHO Global AMR Action Plan 2026–2036; ECDC; World Bank; OCSE; Access to Medicine Foundation (2026); Commissione europea — DG Salute.