13 September 2024 

Improving access to antibiotics will save lives and reduce the rise and spread of drug-resistant infections. Instead of traditional ‘last mile’ global health solutions, global leaders need to support efforts to develop suitable antibiotics and their rational use, ensuring that countries have the capacity to make them available.

With 7.7 million people dying every year from bacterial infections, there is an urgent and immediate need for all countries to have sustain-able access to antibiotics1. Together with interventions like antibiotic stewardship and preventive measures, improving access to antibiotics could help reduce these deaths by 10% by 2030 (ref. 2). At the same time, it will also be key to reduce the rise and spread of drug-resistant infections and ensure that future generations get the protection they need. So, achieving sustainable access to antibiotics will not only save lives today, but will also be critical to the global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) response.