Chijioke Iremeka The World Health Organisation has raised concern over global antimicrobial resistance, warning that it is getting worse and that the world is yet to develop new trailblazing products fast enough to combat the most dangerous and deadliest bacteria. In a statement on its website, the WHO highlighted the lack of medical innovation coupled with subsequent product authorisation, which it noted, poses significant access challenges. Although the number of antibacterial agents in the clinical pipeline increased from 80 in 2021 to 97 in 2023, the global health body insisted that there is a pressing need for new, innovative agents for serious infections and to replace those becoming ineffective due to widespread use.
According to the WHO Assistant Director-General for Antimicrobial Resistance ad interim, Dr Yukiko Nakatani, the innovation is badly lacking, yet antibacterial agents are simply not reaching the patients who desperately need them in countries of all income levels. He noted that AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites no longer respond to medicines, making people sicker and increasing the risk of infection spread that are difficult to treat, illnesses, and deaths. Nakatani added that AMR is driven largely by the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials, yet, at the same time, many people around the world do not have access to essential antimicrobial medicines.
According to the WHO, there are insufficient antibacterials in the pipeline, consideri.
