Islamabad: Pakistan is losing billions of rupees every year to drug-resistant infections, officials warned on Monday, as rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) drives treatment failures, increases hospital deaths and forces families to spend more on prolonged care.
Speaking at a national symposium held by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Ministry of National Health Services to mark World AMR Awareness Week, experts said AMR has become a major public-health and economic emergency that can no longer be ignored.
Estimates suggest AMR is costing Pakistan billions of rupees annually in repeated hospital admissions, expensive second-line antibiotics, extended illness and productivity losses, with experts warning that the burden will continue to grow as resistance spreads across hospitals and communities.
Opening the symposium, NIH Chief Executive Officer Dr. Muhammad Salman called AMR a “silent pandemic” and said Pakistan must now shift from building AMR systems to sustaining them.
He said Pakistan has developed laboratories, surveillance networks and trained teams with partner support, but long-term national investment is needed to protect these gains.
“World AMR Awareness Week is not only about awareness. It is a call to action. Our focus is now shifting from building systems to sustaining them across human and animal health sectors,” he said.
The Special Secretary Health Aslam Ghauri reaffirmed the government’s resolve to tackle AMR through stronger policy enforcement and improved resource allocation. He said sustainable containment requires a coordinated One Health approach linking human health, animal health and environmental institutions, especially at the provincial level. Without provincial coordination, he warned, resistant infections will continue to spread unchecked.
Director General Health Dr. Ayesha Isani Majeed said the ministry remains committed to implementing Pakistan’s National Action Plan on AMR. She said hospitals must strengthen infection-prevention practices to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use, while regulators must curb over-the-counter sales and irrational prescribing that continue to fuel resistance.
“We are committed to strengthening regulatory frameworks and ensuring hospitals and communities use antimicrobials responsibly to preserve their efficacy for future generations,” she said.
Representing the Fleming Fund, Country Lead Dr. Qadeer Ahsan said the Fund has significantly strengthened Pakistan’s diagnostic and surveillance capabilities over the past years.
He said Pakistan must now ensure local sustainability so that high-quality AMR data continues to guide treatment, outbreak response and national policy.
The technical session focused on core One Health pillars. Experts shared updates on Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) and Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) surveillance, warning that weak IPC in many hospitals remains a major driver of resistant bacteria. Findings from Pakistan’s national AMR surveillance system showed rising resistance in pathogens affecting newborns, children, adults and critical care patients.
Environmental AMR monitoring also raised serious concerns. Specialists reported the presence of resistant pathogens in wastewater, hospital effluents and community sewage, noting that poor waste management allows resistant bacteria to re-enter homes and water sources, creating infections that are increasingly difficult to treat.
The symposium concluded with a high-level discussion on implementing Pakistan’s updated AMR National Action Plan (NAP 2.0). Stakeholders highlighted gaps in enforcement, uneven provincial coordination, weak stewardship and low funding. They agreed on a roadmap to strengthen surveillance, harmonize provincial responses and ensure that containment strategies are translated into routine practice.
Experts warned that failure to act now will push Pakistan toward a future where common infections become untreatable, routine surgeries become risky and household medical expenses rise further. They said sustainable AMR containment is essential to protect lives, preserve treatment options and prevent deeper economic strain on the country.