21/05/2026
“Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance: Stewardship, Diagnostics and Innovation”
It was an amazing experience to be part of the Panel at the World Health Assembly 79 Side Event in , Switzerland organized by Infectious Disease Alliance who brought together 15 experts, in two sessions to address One urgent conversation: AMR. Session 1 was on From Policy to Practice: Strengthening AMR Prevention and Stewardship, and Session 2 on Innovation, Access, and Sustainable Models for AMR (https://lnkd.in/gUZp9xvc?)
Antibiotics as technology have liberated and saved countless lives and have also created dependencies in multiple aspects of life which we can no longer afford to ignore. We need to fundamentally rethink innovation beyond developing new small-molecule antibiotics alone.
We also need to remember that the core barrier is no longer purely scientific but economic: the flawed market model such as high costs, low usage volumes enforced by stewardship (necessary), and inadequate returns continues to drive companies out of the space, underscoring the need to integrate novel modalities with systemic policy and financing reforms from the outset, rather than treating them as afterthoughts.
I trust that these two expert roundtables will be able to address persistent gaps in operationalizing stewardship across diverse health systems, explore equitable access to new antimicrobials, rapid diagnostics, and alternative therapies amid fragmented financing and regulatory barriers, and reinforce forward-looking positions on integrated One Health governance.
