Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is accelerating worldwide and turning once easily treatable infections into deadly, hard-to-cure illnesses. Health and development experts warn that misuse and overuse of antibiotics in human health, livestock and agriculture, as well as environmental contamination, are enabling bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi to adapt and survive—putting global health, food security and healthcare systems under growing strain.
Pollution from untreated hospital wastewater, pharmaceutical waste and agricultural run-off is compounding the crisis by creating environments where drug-resistant pathogens can thrive.
“Today, one out of every six bacterial infections confirmed in the laboratory is resistant to antibiotics,” said Dr Javier Yugueros-Marcos of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).
AMR is already linked to nearly 5 million deaths every year, including 1.14 million directly caused by drug-resistant bacterial infections—meaning two lives are lost every minute, according to the Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on AMR, which brings together WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and WOAH.
More than 90 percent of countries now have national AMR action plans, but only 22 percent are fully implementing them with dedicated financing and strong monitoring systems.
“This is why world leaders stepped up last year with another bold commitment through the Political Declaration at the UN General Assembly: 60 percent of countries must have fully funded national AMR action plans by 2030,” said Dr Jean-Pierre Nyemazi, Director of the Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on AMR.
He said governments also pledged to mobilize at least US$100 million, including through the Antimicrobial Resistance Multi-Partner Trust Fund (AMR MPTF), to help countries carry out AMR action plans. “Technical solutions alone won’t win this fight. We need shared responsibility.”
A global fund to match global challenges
Until 2019, there was no dedicated fund to support countries to tackle AMR across human, animal and environmental health. The United Nations-managed AMR MPTF was created to fill that gap and has become the main pooled-financing mechanism helping low- and middle-income countries strengthen AMR programs, surveillance and governance.
World AMR Awareness Week, marked November 18–24, is another reminder for donors to replenish the fund.
“The gains made in AMR policy development risk stalling without the means to act,” said Dr Emmanuel Kabali of FAO.
Real-world impact: Zimbabwe cuts AMR and economic losses
In Zimbabwe, the fund has helped revive local production of the BOLVAC vaccine, used to fight tick-borne diseases in cattle and reduce misuse of antibiotics on farms.
“Zimbabwe is an agricultural economy. With initiatives like BOLVAC, we are not just tackling antimicrobial resistance—we are reducing economic losses,” said Dr Tapfumanei Mashe of WHO Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe also introduced the typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) in 2019 to stem outbreaks and reduce reliance on antibiotics. AMR MPTF funding enabled the country to monitor its effects and the results have been significant: typhoid incidence dropped from 1,373 cases per 100,000 people before the vaccine to 341 per 100,000 afterwards.
This also helped control resistance to first-line typhoid treatments, which had become less effective.
“The vaccine not only reduced AMR but also cut government health spending and improved survival,” Dr Mashe said.
The country has also expanded surveillance to track resistance across human health, animals, agriculture and the environment.
Cambodia: strong plans held back by lack of funding—until MPTF
In Cambodia, a national AMR plan existed in 2019 but had little funding to implement it. AMR MPTF support enabled the country to move from fragmented efforts to coordinated, One Health governance.
With MPTF resources, Cambodia established a national multisectoral One Health coordination body, trained district and village animal health workers, strengthened laboratories and introduced a Laboratory Information Management System to ensure data meets global standards.
An initial US$1 million investment from the fund helped Cambodia secure US$34 million in additional AMR financing through the German Development Bank.
Human stories bring the crisis home
For AMR survivors like Rob Purdie, the issue is both personal and urgent.
“AMR is invisible. I am not,” he said. Purdie argues that lived experience is essential to drive political and public action.
Former Dutch health minister Professor Ernst Kuipers said that investments through the AMR MPTF are already saving lives.
“If we act decisively now, we can preserve lifesaving medicines for generations. If we delay, we risk losing the tools that make modern healthcare possible.”
Why investing together matters
Dr Gunilla Eklund of the European Commission said the AMR MPTF has become a smarter aid model because it avoids duplication, encourages donor coordination and allows countries to focus on their own priorities.
“It allows collective action to deliver more than isolated projects could achieve by themselves.”
With rising deaths and fast-spreading resistance, health agencies warn that AMR is not a future threat—it is already here, and progress depends on whether countries can turn plans into funded action.
