How can we help stop deadly drug-resistant infections spreading? Debt relief | Glenda Gray

Millions of lives could be saved if the world would only consider more innovative ways to help poorer nations tackle AMR

Drug-resistant infection, already one of the world's biggest killers, is expected to rise sharply. By 2050, the number of people dying due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is likely to increase by about 70%, with drug-resistant infections expected to cause 39 million deaths, and as many as 169 million associated deaths during this time.

We know that the most effective ways to prevent many of these deaths is by increasing equitable global access to essential antibiotics and better medical care, and by developing effective new tools. However, what is less clear is how this will be funded. At the recent United Nations general assembly, governments committed $100m (76m) towards this effort. While this is encouraging, the scale of the challenge is such that it will fall way short of the $63bn a year that is needed.