The Growing Threat of AMR Worldwide
AMR is one of the most pressing global health challenges of our time. As microbes become resistant to existing medicines, treating infections becomes harder, leading to more severe illness and higher death rates. This has significant economic consequences, in terms of health costs and loss of productivity.
The impact of AMR is especially severe in LMICs. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics, combined with poor sanitation and limited infection control, create an environment where resistant microbes thrive. As a result, people in these regions are more vulnerable to drug-resistant infections, and the burden of AMR is felt more deeply, with higher death rates in LMICs.
Assoc. Prof. Raph Hamers contributed to the new WHO research agenda as one of the core team members.
“Despite the growing attention on AMR as a global health issue, major knowledge gaps still slow down an effective response, especially in LMICs. This limits progress in key areas like infection prevention, vaccines, diagnostics, treatments, and antimicrobial stewardship. Addressing these gaps will require collaboration between governments, academia, civil society, and the private sector,” he said.
As the Head of the Clinical Infectious Diseases Research Programme at OUCRU Indonesia, Raph leads several projects at OUCRU Indonesia that are focused on AMR, including ACORN, NASPA, and BCB Study.
Read the full story on the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) website.