WHO Warns of Rising Antibiotic Resistance, Highlights India’s Growing Vulnerability - Video

The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised a global alarm over antibiotic resistance, revealing that in 2023, one in six bacterial infections worldwide were resistant to standard antibiotic treatments. The 2025 WHO report highlights a sharp rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with over 40% of pathogen-antibiotic combinations showing increased resistance between 2018 and 2023. This surge is especially severe in South-East Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, where about one in three infections are now resistant, posing a dire threat to healthcare systems, particularly in regions with weaker diagnostics and care access.

India faces an acute AMR crisis, driven by a high infectious disease burden, unregulated antibiotic use, environmental contamination, and uneven implementation of national action plans. The country recorded 297,000 deaths directly attributable to AMR in 2019, with major pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae showing alarming resistance levels. Consequences include treatment failures, increased mortality, longer hospital stays, and threats to routine medical procedures. Addressing this requires stringent antibiotic stewardship, improved surveillance, awareness campaigns, and coordinated multi-sectoral action to preserve antibiotic effectiveness and safeguard public health.