5 October 2026 – An article published today in the British Medical Journal Public Health shows Asia-Pacific countries developing better national action plans to fight antimicrobial resistance. However, most plans lack the funding to be implemented fully and thereby save lives.
The findings, drawn from data by 28 Asia-Pacific countries, come at a pivotal moment in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which occurs when bacteria and other organisms that cause infections evolve to resist the medicines used to treat them.
In 2024, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) unanimously adopted the Political declaration of the high-level meeting on AMR, setting ambitious targets for 2030.
In 2019, an estimated 2.6 million deaths were associated with AMR in the Asia-Pacific region. More than 680 000 (one quarter) of those lives lost were directly attributable to AMR. In the WHO Western Pacific Region, AMR is projected to cause more than 5 million deaths and cost up to US$ 148 billion from 2020 to 2030.
"Countries in Asia and the Pacific have shown determination, leadership and political commitment for concrete actions to achieve the targets in the UNGA Political Declaration, address the challenges that AMR poses and protect people’s lives," said Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific. "That commitment needs to be matched with the domestic investment required to further implement these ambitious yet practical national action plans. AMR is a public health threat that countries must tackle all the more urgently, to ensure critical medicines work and lives are saved."Closing the funding gap
The Journal article is a collaboration between the Government of Japan, the World Health Organization Regional Offices for the Western Pacific and South-East Asia, and authors from 27 other Asia-Pacific countries who presented their respective progress at the Tokyo AMR One Health Conference in February 2025. As the first regional summary of national progress against the 2024 UNGA Political Declaration, the information will serve as a baseline for measuring progress to 2030.
The collaboration reflects continued joint efforts by the WHO Regional Offices for the Western Pacific and South-East Asia, together with the Government of Japan, to support countries in turning political commitments on AMR into costed, funded and measurable national action.
Plans are becoming more robust and sophisticated as countries gain experience and deliberate more carefully. Among the 28 countries presenting data, 27 had endorsed at least one multisectoral AMR action plan; most (14) were on their second plan and three on their third.
Compared with first plans, second-generation plans were twice as likely to be costed (67% versus 33%), nearly three times as likely to contain monitoring and evaluation frameworks (93% versus 33%), and far more likely to include measurable targets (71% versus 8%).
This progress, however, has not been matched by funding.
Nearly half (49%) of the 27 countries with AMR plans are not costed at all, while only 44% of plans are fully costed and another 7% partially costed.
While full domestic financing is achievable, the region continues to be heavily dependent on external partners. Only eight countries – a mix of high-income and Pacific island countries – reported that AMR activities are funded entirely from domestic sources. Meanwhile, 15 countries (56%) received less than 30% of their total AMR funding from domestic sources.
Preventing infections from spreading
Gaps are also evident in two areas central to containing AMR: preventing infections and appropriate antimicrobial use.
Basic water, sanitation and hygiene services in health-care facilities are fundamental to stopping infections from spreading in the first place, thereby reducing the need for antibiotics. Yet only 16 of 28 countries (57%) reported that more than 75% of all their health-care facilities have these services.
Appropriate antimicrobial use means prescribing the WHO Access group of effective, narrow-spectrum drugs for common infections whenever indicated, rather than broader-spectrum options that drive resistance when overused. However, only nine countries (33%) reported that over 70% of their antibiotic use comes from the Access group.
"This data spans both the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions, reflecting the strength of our Asia-Pacific collaboration. It provides an essential evidence base for coordinated and measurable action on AMR," said Dr Nilesh Buddha, Officer-in-Charge, WHO South-East Asia Region.
"The countries of Asia and the Pacific have made clear that they recognize the urgency of action," he added. "Together, we can change the trajectory of AMR and safeguard the health of future generations."
Sustaining progress
Robust and costed national action plans help countries identify and implement practical, near-term priorities. These include adopting the WHO AWaRe antibiotic classification system to protect the availability of essential medicines, and ensure “Reserve” antibiotics are there for patients who need them.
Japan has led regional efforts to accelerate action on AMR since 2016, when it launched the Asia-Pacific One Health Initiative on AMR (ASPIRE) together with the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific and the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia. Hosting the Tokyo AMR One Health Conference for the seventh time in 2025, Japan continues to convene countries and partners across the region around shared data, shared targets and shared accountability.
"Japan recognizes the grave threat AMR poses to global health security, national economies, health systems and our daily lives. In line with WHO’s efforts, we will continue to advance AMR measures domestically while contributing to efforts to address AMR across the Asia-Pacific region," said Dr Manabu Sumi, Director-General of the Department of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan.
WHO and the Government of Japan call on countries across Asia and the Pacific to step up the fight against AMR: to fully cost and fund their national AMR action plans; extend basic water, sanitation and infection control services to every health-care facility; strengthen surveillance capacities to track drug-resistant infections; and ensure more appropriate antimicrobial use.
Note for editors:
In 2025, Japan hosted the 7th Tokyo AMR One Health Conference in person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, co-hosted by the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific and the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia. Delegates from 31 Asia-Pacific Member States attended the conference.
One Health refers to the linkages between human, animal and environmental health, an essential multisectoral approach for countries to strengthen health systems and health security, reiterated as a key pillar of public health at the first-ever high-level One Health Summit in Lyon, France, in April 2026.
For more information, or to arrange media interviews, contact:
WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific: wprocom@who.int
WHO Regional Office for the South-East Asia: SEMediaRelations@who.int
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan: kansensho-koho@mhlw.go.jp