World AMR Awareness Week: Failure to prevent misuse, overuse of medicine fuelling antimicrobial resistance

Threat to global health, food security say experts.

3 min readPuneNov 18, 2024 10:35 PM IST

" We should give antibiotics or other antimicrobials only when we have a proper diagnosis. We should be aware of hospital-acquired infections and do all that we can to stop the transmission of infections.” Felix pointed out.

“Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is invisible, but I am not. So, AMR can happen to anyone,” said Felix Liauw of Indonesia, a caregiver of his 3-month-old son who passed away after extensive misuse and overuse of medicines. Felix is a member of World Health Organization (WHO) Task Force of AMR Survivors.

“Right after birth, my son had chronic diarrhoea and fever. A doctor (wrongly) diagnosed him with sepsis. His sepsis–treatment changed from first-line antibiotics to second–line antibiotics to third–line ones (meropenem) but there was no improvement. After a genetic test, we learnt that my son had a rare genetic mutation–related condition, called congenital short bowel syndrome. Our child could not tolerate any kind of milk (breast milk or any infant formula feed). He died three months after birth,” Felix said at a virtual conference held as part of the 4th Edition of Global Media Forum around World AMR Awareness Week (November 18-24).
Experts spoke about why failure to prevent misuse and overuse of medicines is fuelling antimicrobial resistance.

” We should give antibiotics or other antimicrobials only when we have a proper diagnosis. We should be aware of hospital-acquired infections and do all that we can to stop the transmission of infections.” Felix pointed out.

Thomas Joseph, Head, AMR Awareness, Campaigns and Advocacy, World Health Organization (WHO) HQ and Chairperson of AMR Awareness Working Group for the Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on AMR, said that AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines.
“As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness, disability and death. AMR threatens our ability to treat common infections and to perform life-saving procedures including cancer chemotherapy and caesarean section, hip replacements, organ transplantation and other surgeries,” Joseph said.

“Data shows that 1.27 million deaths could directly be attributed to bacterial AMR in 2019 but the number of total associated deaths to AMR in a year is around 5 million. AMR deaths may increase by 50% in the next 25 years,” Joseph said

He said misuse and overuse of antimicrobials; poor access to quality, affordable medicines, vaccines and diagnostics; lack of awareness and knowledge; population movement; lack of access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene; poor infection and disease prevention and control in healthcare facilities and farms, are the main drivers of AMR in human health sector.

Shobha Shukla, chairperson of Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA) also made a strong case for ending inequality and injustice in health responses. “We must ensure the best of diagnostic tools are available for all diseases and infections to everyone – especially those who are most likely to be unreached by existing public services. Access to health must be people-centred, rights-based and gender transformative. Failure is not a choice when it comes to challenges like AMR. We must ensure health security for everyone with equity and justice,” she said.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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