Lack of access to generic antibiotics and antifungals is an overlooked issue in AMR

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a clear and fast-rising threat to the health of humans and animals, the economy, and the environment. And the current situation is dire. For GARDP's REVIVE project, the Access to Medicine Foundation's Antimicrobial Resistance Programme team, Fatema Rafiqi, Research Programme Manager, and researchers, Moska Hellamand and Martijn van Gerven, write about how limited access to generic antibiotics and antifungals spurs AMR and how access can be scaled up.

Date

22 November 2022

Direct links

Read the full article

In 2019, the deaths of 1.27 million people were directly attributed to antimicrobial-resistant infections. The World Bank estimates that the material risk of AMR will result in global output losses of over USD 1 trillion by 2030 and USD 2 trillion by 2050.
It is the world’s poorest countries that experience the highest levels of AMR and the highest rates of infectious disease. And it is precisely the people living in these countries that also suffer from significant gaps in access to adequate treatment. Pathogens know no borders, and if the lack of access is not addressed in the country of origin, drug-resistant infections will spread globally.

Limited access to first-line generic treatments spurs AMR

When the right, first-line antibiotics and antifungals are not locally accessible, a doctor may resolve to prescribe a less effective alternative that is not only less likely to cure the patient’s infection but can also contribute to AMR. In some cases, doctors might not have the option to prescribe any treatment. In addition, the lack of access to diagnostics exacerbates the problem by making it difficult for doctors to prescribe the correct antibiotic for a specific pathogen and infection.

Read the full article on GARDP's REVIVE website.