Asia-Pacific countries sharpen plans to fight antimicrobial resistance, but most remain unfunded
The WHO report published on 5 October 2026 looked at the progress of 28 countries in the Asia-Pacific region in fighting antimicrobial resistance.
The report says countries are making better plans, but they still do not have enough funding to carry out these plans.
Among the 27 countries that had antimicrobial resistance action plans, 49% of the plans had no cost estimate, only 44% were fully costed, and 7% were partly costed.
The report also found gaps in infection prevention and antimicrobial use. Only 16 out of 28 countries reported that more than 75% of their healthcare facilities had basic water, sanitation and hygiene services. Only 9 countries reported that more than 70% of their antibiotic use came from the WHO Access group.
In 2019, about 2.6 million deaths in the Asia-Pacific region were associated with AMR, including more than 680,000 deaths directly linked to AMR.
Source : World Health Organisation (WHO)
Read the full WHO article
What do you think? Should countries give more importance to funding plans to fight antimicrobial resistance?
MBH/PS