Strengthening Infection Prevention to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance and Improve Patient Safety in Healthcare Settings

Antimicrobial resistance remains a critical threat to global health systems, with rising concerns about its impact on patient safety and healthcare sustainability, particularly in conflict-affected regions.

A recent correspondence published in The Lancet on April 25, 2026, emphasizes that while conflict increases the risk of inpatient antimicrobial resistance transmission, strengthening infection prevention and control measures and reducing hospital-acquired infections are essential for improving quality of care and patient safety, regardless of whether antimicrobial resistance is the primary concern.

The authors agree that antimicrobial resistance poses an existential global threat with substantial implications for the sustainability of all health systems, reinforcing the need for coordinated action across healthcare, public health, veterinary medicine, agriculture, food safety, and research sectors.

This perspective aligns with ongoing U.S. Government efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance through the National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, which takes a One Health approach to strengthen detection, slow emergence and spread, improve antibiotic use, advance rapid diagnostics, enhance infection control, and accelerate research on new therapeutics.

Hospital antimicrobial stewardship programs are recognized as a key strategy in optimizing infection treatment while reducing unnecessary antibiotic use, with guidance from the CDC’s Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs supporting implementation across facilities of varying size and complexity.

Experts note that effective antimicrobial resistance prevention requires not only policy and innovation in drug development but also sustained educational interventions for healthcare trainees, covering antimicrobial stewardship, infection prevention, and leadership development to ensure long-term program success.

As global health systems face mounting pressure from resistant infections, integrating infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship, and One Health principles is seen as vital to preserving the effectiveness of current treatments and protecting vulnerable populations, especially in settings where healthcare infrastructure is compromised by conflict or resource limitations.