© WHO / Enric Catala Contreras
A pharmacist in Cambodia explains to a customer how to use prescribed medicines, including antibiotics. When used appropriately, antibiotics play a crucial role in reducing antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
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From advocacy to action: accelerating the fight against AMR in Asia–Pacific

9 March 2026
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is no longer a silent pandemic. It's reversing decades of progress in safeguarding health in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Drug-resistant infections are making common illnesses harder and more expensive to treat, including tuberculosis, one of the world’s leading killers.

Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, and Dr Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge of WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia, explain in a joint commentary what countries should do, ever more urgently, to combat AMR.

Access the editorial from The Lancet.

Authors

Dr Saia Ma'u Piukala

Regional Director for the Western Pacific