Originally published by Scientific American
“Rise of the superbugs.” “Global crisis.” “Nightmare bacteria.” “Deadly fungus.”
The media has caught on to the dire threat that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) presents, and it has certainly captured the urgency of the situation.
Global health professionals know this crisis has been years in the making and have been acting accordingly. We know, however, that we cannot contain the spread of AMR without strengthening health systems in low- and middle-income countries, which tend to have weaker surveillance systems for drug use and infectious disease management. Our efforts would be futile. It’s time to take stock of where we are and figure out our focus going forward; we have no time to lose.
The global health organization I work for, Management Sciences for Health (MSH), has been strengthening health systems in dozens of countries for almost 50 years, alongside governments, donors, global organizations like the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Consortium and the World Health Organization (WHO) and other nonprofits. Based on results to date, here are four lessons we have learned: