3 Million Children Dead: Drug-Resistant Infections Spark Global Crisis
Over three million children died in 2022 from infections that antibiotics could no longer treat. The surge in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is hitting the poorest regions hardest and threatens to erase decades of progress in child health.
When Medicine Stops Working
AMR occurs when bacteria evolve to resist the antibiotics used to treat them. Once-curable diseases like pneumonia, sepsis, or even skin infections can become deadly when drugs fail to kill the bacteria. The study, led by Dr. Yanhong Jessika Hu of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and Professor Herb Harwell of the Clinton Health Access Initiative, found that child deaths from AMR-related infections have surged tenfold between 2019 and 2022.
COVID Pandemic Made a Bad Problem Worse
The researchers believe the COVID-19 pandemic played a major role in accelerating antibiotic resistance. During the crisis, antibiotics were frequently misused to treat viral infections—such as COVID itself—for which they are ineffective. This unnecessary use allowed resistant bacteria to thrive and spread, particularly in regions where diagnostic testing was limited and prescriptions were made as a precaution rather than a necessity.
Dangerous Overuse of Critical Antibiotics
The study reveals a sharp increase in the use of powerful antibiotics that should be used sparingly. Between 2019 and 2021, the use of “watch antibiotics”—those with a high risk of promoting resistance—rose by 160% in South East Asia and 126% in Africa. Even more alarming, “reserve antibiotics,” intended only for severe, last-resort cases, saw increases of 45% in South East Asia and 125% in Africa.
Such widespread and inappropriate use is exhausting the world’s last lines of defense. “When these drugs stop working, there may be nothing left to save children from resistant infections,” warned Professor Harwell.
A Dwindling Arsenal—and Few New Drugs
Making matters worse, the pipeline for new antibiotic development has slowed dramatically, due to high costs and lengthy approval processes. As existing antibiotics lose effectiveness, there are fewer and fewer replacements being developed. If resistance continues to grow unchecked, doctors could soon face untreatable infections with no viable alternatives.
Prevention Is the Best Cure
Experts agree: the most effective way to combat AMR is to prevent infections before they happen. This includes expanding vaccination coverage, improving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure, and ensuring that antibiotics are prescribed only when truly necessary—both in human medicine and agriculture.
“Antibiotics are everywhere—they’re in our food systems, our hospitals, and our environment,” said Professor Harwell. “Solving this problem will require action across every sector of society.”
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