A landmark study presented today at ESCMID Global 2025 has revealed that over 3 million children worldwide lost their lives in 2022 due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR)-related infections. The study underscores the urgent need for both regional and global strategies to control paediatric AMR, particularly in high-burden areas such as South-East Asia and Africa. Access to new antibiotic formulations is often much more limited for children because of product development delays. Watch and Reserve antibiotics are not intended for first-line treatment and their use should be limited only for those who need them to preserve their effectiveness and reduce the development of resistance. In contrast, Access antibiotics are those that are more widely available and used to treat common infections due to their lower potential for increasing resistance. Globally, of the more than 3 million children's deaths, 2 million were associated with the use of Watch and Reserve antibiotics. Their increased use, especially without careful oversight, elevates the risk of resistance and limits future treatment options. If bacteria develop resistance to these antibiotics, there will be few, if any, alternatives for treating multidrug-resistance infections." Several factors contribute to the severity of AMR in low- and middle-income countries, including overcrowded hospitals, poor sanitation, and weak infection prevention measures that facilitate the spread of resistant pathogens within healthcare settings and communities. Due to a lack of diagnostic tools and concerns over misdiagnosis, overuse and misuse of antibiotics are also widespread in these regions. "Mortality rates, which are already alarmingly high, will continue to rise significantly, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where access to alternative treatments and advanced medical interventions may be limited." Global and national surveillance on AMR must adopt a 'One Health' approach, with cost-effective systems that can inform treatment guidelines and measure the impact of control interventions." "On a regional level, we call on policymakers to mandate hospital-based antimicrobial stewardship programmes in all paediatric healthcare facilities. Improved age classifications in surveillance data will also enhance our understanding of important differences in resistance rates across the age categories, as well as pediatric-specific resistance mechanisms. Additionally, we urge the implementation of national guidelines to ensure routine surveillance informs antibiotic use," concluded Professor Harwell. European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Dr. Pascale Allotey advocates for comprehensive maternal health policies, stressing the importance of women's voices in shaping effective healthcare solutions. Dr. Yifan Jian explores the evolution of OCT, challenges in retinal imaging, and AI's potential in biophotonics, shaping the future of ophthalmic diagnostics. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.