PM Modi warns of the threat from antimicrobial resistance
In December 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a timely warning about one of the most serious yet under-recognised global health threats: antimicrobial resistance (AMR). PM Modi alerted that AMR threatens to undo decades of progress in modern medicine—not only in India, but worldwide.
What PM Modi Said
PM Modi highlighted antimicrobial resistance as a critical public health challenge for the years ahead. Antibiotics, long considered our strongest defence against infectious diseases, are steadily losing their effectiveness. Misuse and overuse have accelerated resistance, making once-treatable infections harder— even impossible—to cure.
The Prime Minister emphasised that the impact of AMR goes far beyond individual illnesses. It undermines health systems, worsens outcomes across multiple diseases, and poses a global risk. India’s high-level commitment to addressing AMR comes at a crucial moment, as countries prepare to spotlight the issue at upcoming international forums, including the AMR Summit in Sydney (dates) and a joint conference organised by the Government of Japan and WHO (South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions).
Why This Warning Matters: What Experts Say
Health experts and global institutions have strongly endorsed PM Modi’s remarks, calling the renewed national focus on AMR long overdue. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has repeatedly warned that AMR is compromising the prevention and treatment of major communicable diseases.
Diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and several neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are increasingly difficult to treat due to multidrug resistance. According to the Global AMR Surveillance and Use System (GLASS) 2025 report, resistance levels worldwide are alarmingly high. One in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections globally is linked to drug-resistant pathogens. In South-East Asia, the situation is even more severe, with nearly one in three infections showing resistance.
How India Plans to Tackle the AMR Challenge
India’s National Strategy to Fight AMR (2025–2029) could be a blueprint for broader adaption for a comprehensive roadmap to address this growing threat. The strategy includes clear timelines, dedicated budgets, and defined responsibilities across more than 20 ministries—highlighting the scale and seriousness of the response.
At it’s core is a One Health approach, recognizing that antimicrobial resistance is influenced by interconnected factors across human health, animal health, agriculture, and the environment. The extensive use of antimicrobials in livestock, aquaculture, and crop production—particularly in South-East Asia—has been identified as a major driver of resistant microorganisms.
The Strategy also considers the evidence on environmental factors. The spread of resistant genes and pathogens is closely linked to the triple planetary crisis: climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Together, these forces create conditions that allow resistance to emerge and spread more rapidly.
The Strategy is reinforced by two critical actions for implementation:
- Stronger regulation of antibiotics. Tighter controls aim to reduce misuse—such as prescribing antibiotics for viral infections like the common cold or flu—which accelerates resistance and weakens treatments for genuine bacterial diseases.
- Raising public awareness. Patients are encouraged to use antibiotics responsibly by avoiding self-medication, completing prescribed courses (especially for long-term treatments like TB), and understanding when antibiotics are truly needed.
Leadership at the Highest Level to combat a silent pandemic
By taking up the AMR challenge at the highest political level, PM Modi has signalled that antimicrobial resistance is not just a medical issue, but a national and global priority. The influences on AMR are increasing and complex, requiring coordinated action across sectors as well as among providers and patients. The call from Sydney and Tokyo must be for sustained political commitment and strong multi-sector/stakeholder stewardship from health ministries to combat what is a rapidly increasing silent pandemic.