Nearly 1.3 million people die every year from infections that antibiotics can no longer treat1, and this number is on a steady increase. The pathogens causing death and serious illness are evolving faster than the drugs designed to fight them, yet the global response, while strengthening, does not match the scale of the threat.
But the story of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is not one of failure. It is a tale of genuine progress running alongside serious structural barriers, and understanding both is essential for anyone working to change the outcome.
In the past decade, AMR mortality in children under five has dropped by more than 50%. A global surveillance system has been built, largely from scratch, that now covers more than 100 countries. New payment models are emerging to fix the broken economics of antibiotic development. Alternative therapies that didn’t exist in clinical practice fifteen years ago are now in trials. And at the 2024 UN High-Level Meeting, world leaders made the strongest international commitment to fighting AMR in history — pledging a 10% reduction in mortality related to bacterial AMR by 2030.
At the same time, the antibiotic pipeline is growing numerically but predominantly comprises therapeutics that are derivatives of those already on the market, offering few new solutions as bacteria become resistant to existing antibiotic classes. Too often, innovators with promising or even proven antibiotics go bankrupt after bringing approved drugs to market. Surveillance gaps are the largest, and medical stewardship programs are the weakest in the regions most at risk globally. And the political commitments made in global declarations consistently outpace the funding required to act on them.
The Two Steps Forward, One Step Back graphic portrays the two realities we must hold at once: meaningful progress and areas of serious concern. The infographic portrays an honest picture of where the global fight against AMR stands today and where the gaps remain.
