Experts Warn Against Drug Resistant Infections, Unveil 2026 AMR Benchmark

An article for Chimp Reports covers the release of the 2026 Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Benchmark, spotlighting that while progress is being made in developing new treatments, access to lifesaving antibiotics – especially for children in low- and middle-income countries – remains limited.

The article highlights that AMR is becoming a major public health crisis globally, but has a disproportionate effect on low- and middle-income countries in Africa.

It quotes Jayasree K. Iyer, CEO of the Access to Medicine Foundation: “In parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, nearly half of babies dying of neonatal sepsis are linked to drug resistance, where mothers are giving birth in wards where standard antibiotics no longer work.”

The article mentions the report’s paediatric-focused key findings – that currently, only five projects in the global pipeline are focused on antimicrobial treatments for children under five years of age, and these are being developed by just three companies: Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Shionogi. Even child-friendly medicines that are on the market may not be registered in countries that need them most.

It also notes the report's finding that in Sub-Saharan Africa, there are 17 countries where none of the companies assessed have registered pediatric antimicrobial formulations, with South Africa and Namibia being the only countries in the region with relatively wider access to child-friendly antimicrobial treatments.