In the climate debate, low- and middle-income countries have often been blamed for rising emissions, while the vastly greater historical contribution of wealthy nations is treated as yesterday’s story.

Something similar has happened with the global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have long been portrayed as the worst offenders of antibiotic overuse, with over-the-counter sales and weak regulation seen as one of the main reasons behind the rise and spread of drug-resistant infections. But a new study now challenges this narrative.

Research published in the Lancet Public Health found that overuse is actually concentrated in high-income settings, with these countries consuming the largest volumes of antibiotics used to treat drug-resistant infections. In contrast, many lower-income countries still lack access to these drugs, despite accounting for more than 80% of the estimated global need.

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For decades, the global pipeline for developing new antibiotics has worked in reverse – prioritising the countries least affected by bacterial infections, while leaving those with the greatest need waiting.

That is why the licencing in Thailand of zoliflodacin – a new antibiotic for gonorrhoea – matters so much. Coming just six months after its initial authorisation in the US, it marks a significant break from a long-entrenched tradition and is a big step forward for global health.

Multi-drug resistant gonorrhoea –- often called super-gonorrhoea –- first emerged in Asia but has since spread to Europe, with the UK reporting one of the most dangerous cases in 2018. The early licencing of a drug to tackle it in Asia will hopefully be felt all around the world.

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Striking at the heart of antimicrobial resistance, the international NeoSep 1 trial to evaluate life-saving antibiotic combinations for newborns with sepsis has expanded to India, with the first baby being recruited at the Jawaharlal Postgraduate Education Institute of Medical and Research (JIPMER) in Puducherry.

This was followed by recruiting an infant for the study in Pt. B.D. Sharma PGIMS in Rohtak. The next on the list is Lokmanya Tilak Municipal College and General Hospital, Mumbai. Globally, the study, sponsored by the GARDP Foundation in collaboration with the UCL Innovative Clinical Trials Unit; City St George’s, University of London (SGUL), and Penta Foundation, is also underway in Vietnam and Pakistan, and will soon start in Malaysia, Bangladesh and Uganda.

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Why should a surge in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Europe be a concern across Africa or for people who don’t consider themselves to be at risk? Because it points to a bigger problem: the ease with which drug-resistant infections are now spreading, and not just in hospitals but within the community too.

The speed and scale at which people travel and interact in our interconnected world is increasingly helping to drive this, allowing drug-resistant pathogens to move rapidly through populations and across the world – including between high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where the burden is often greatest and surveillance more limited.

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India has enroled its first newborn in a landmark global clinical trial that could reshape how doctors treat one of the biggest killers of infants, neonatal sepsis, at a time when the antibiotics used for decades are rapidly losing their power.

Sepsis in newborns, or neonatal sepsis, is a serious medical condition that occurs when a baby younger than 28 days old has a life-threatening response to an infection.

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24 June 2026

When newborns develop sepsis, doctors often have only hours to save them. But increasingly, known antibiotics are failing against drug-resistant bacteria, forcing clinicians to improvise with a bewildering range of alternatives¹.

A major international clinical trial has now begun recruiting newborns in India to address this growing dilemma in neonatal intensive care units. The trial, led by the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP), will test and rank multiple antibiotic combinations for neonatal sepsis, one of the leading causes of newborn deaths worldwide.

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18 June 2026

GENEVA—Despite delivering extraordinary gains in the fight against child mortality and diseases such as HIV, polio, and malaria, the global health system has come under strain not only from shrinking resources but also from unprecedented scrutiny and rising expectations.

Critics rightly point out that today’s global health architecture is fragmented, costly, and not always responsive to evolving needs. Donor and recipient governments, as well as other funders, are increasingly demanding a more efficient system that reduces duplication, breaks down silos, empowers country leadership, and supports national health systems.

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12 June 2026

Three Geneva-based health organisations will join forces to speed up research and development into treatments for malaria, neglected diseases and drug-resistant infections, amid global aid cuts and calls for global health architecture reform.

The Drugs and Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and the GARDP Foundation, announced plans on Monday to work more closely together as part of efforts to stay ahead of a rapidly shifting environment.

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16 April 2026

A landmark clinical trial to evaluate life-saving antibiotic combinations for treating newborns with sepsis has started in Ghana.

The NeoSep1 clinical trial in Ghana began with the first baby recruited at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi. The trial builds on ongoing work in Africa, where newborns have been enrolled in the trial in hospitals in South Africa and Kenya.

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2026年1月20日

研究の背景：薬剤耐性淋菌という世界的脅威

　性感染症を診察したことがなくても、「淋菌」や「クラミジア」なんて病名を耳にしない読者の先生方はいないだろう。これらは、尿道炎や子宮頸管炎を起こす主な細菌で、性感染症の大多数はこれらが原因と考えていただいてもよい。性病の原因菌である淋菌が、とんでもない状況にあることをご存じだろうか？

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