Quantify the current trajectory of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at the pathogen level, assess the economic costs of untreatable infections, and project mortality outcomes under different intervention scenarios through 2050.

WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS) data across 145 countries. Cross-referenced with World Bank One Health Approaches analysis and Rand Corporation economic modeling of untreated infection treatment costs. Molecular epidemiology of resistance determinants from PATRIC database.

27 million direct deaths annually and contributes to 5 million additional deaths through treatment failures. By 2050, without intervention, AMR could cause 10 million deaths per year — more than cancer — and drag global GDP down by 2-3%.

The most alarming trend is the rapid spread of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter and Enterobacteriaceae — organisms resistant to last-resort antibiotics. India and Pakistan account for 40% of global antibiotic consumption yet produce 50% of global antibiotic resistance genes.

The problem is both a microbiological crisis and an economic one: the financial incentives for antibiotic R&D have collapsed, and the drugs that work are treated as commodities with razor-thin margins.