Health care has evolved through centuries of learning, discovery and courage. Every generation has witnessed breakthroughs that changed the destiny of human life. The discovery of antibiotics was one such moment. Diseases that once caused devastation became treatable. Surgeries became safer. Medicine stepped into a new era where science could reliably defeat infection. Antibiotics remain one of modern health care’s greatest miracles. Yet, today, this miracle is under threat.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been rising quietly around us. It is the unsettling reality of microbes learning to withstand the very medicines designed to stop them. This is not a crisis that arrives suddenly, nor one that announces itself dramatically. It advances each time antibiotics are taken unnecessarily, prescribed without evidence, or discontinued the moment symptoms improve. It strengthens when we treat viral infections with antibacterial drugs. It accelerates when access to diagnostics is limited and decisions are made without clarity. Over time, infections we once considered routine begin to behave like stubborn adversaries. Recovery becomes slower, uncertainty becomes longer, and the cost of care rises.
The World Health Organization has repeatedly reminded the world that AMR is among the most serious threats facing modern health care. The most worrying truth is that AMR is no longer a problem of tomorrow. It is already reshaping the present, in hospitals and communities across the world, including our own.
India’s role in this global story is especially significant. We are a nation with remarkable clinical talent, growing access to care and strong public health ambition. At the same time, we face a high burden of infectious diseases, uneven access to quality diagnostics, and widespread misuse of antibiotics. In some households, antibiotics are treated as quick remedies. In some settings, they are taken without prescriptions. In other instances, incomplete courses and inappropriate combinations become routine. None of these actions are driven by malice. They are often driven by lack of awareness, fear of prolonged illness, or the natural desire for rapid relief. Yet, bacteria do not respond to our intentions. They respond to pressure, and repeated pressure breeds resistance.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public warning against misuse of antibiotics and his call for citizens to avoid treating them as “quick fixes” deserves appreciation. He placed the issue where it belongs, in the centre of public consciousness as AMR cannot be solved only inside hospitals, as it must also be addressed in daily behaviour and societal culture.
India is well positioned to become a global leader in safeguarding antibiotics. Our scale, our scientific capacity and our ability to build systems at pace are real advantages. But leadership in the era of AMR will not be defined only by the discovery of new drugs. It will be defined by the discipline with which we protect existing ones. It will be shaped by how strongly we invest in infection prevention and control, how widely we expand diagnostic capability, how consistently we train health care teams, and how deeply we embed antibiotic stewardship into clinical culture.
At Apollo, we recognised the gravity of antimicrobial resistance long before it entered national headlines. In 2022, Apollo launched its national antimicrobial stewardship programme to align and amplify the efforts of individual hospitals within the group and create a platform for exchange of best practices. Stewardship must become part of our culture. It must shape every prescription, inform every clinical review and inspire every young clinician who enters our system. This was not an initiative designed only for compliance. It was designed for conscience.
Antibiotics transformed health care by making infections treatable and surgery safer. If we allow this miracle to fade through carelessness, we weaken the very confidence on which modern medicine stands.
Our generation will be remembered not only for what it built, but for what it protected. If we act together with vigilance, science and compassion, we will safeguard the miracle of antibiotics for our patients today, and for generations to come.
Dr Preetha Reddy is Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited.