Health · Public Health & Disease · 7 hrs ago
Jim O’Neill says drug resistance is being neglected amid tight budgets
Jim O’Neill says drug-resistant infections are receiving too little attention because public finances are under pressure.
He has followed the problem since chairing an independent review set up by the UK government from 2014 to 2016.
Drug resistance in newborn sepsis is rising, creating an urgent need for better ways to identify infections.
O’Neill is now leading an effort to encourage the development of rapid tests for newborn sepsis in developing countries.
The effort uses an advance market commitment, a promise to buy a product if it is developed.
The goal is to make useful tests worth developing, even where commercial incentives may be weak.
The story also raises concerns about share-price-focused corporate decisions and short-term political thinking, but gives no further details about the UK pension policy mentioned in its headline.
Jim O’Neill says drug resistance is receiving little attention because public finances are tight.
He has followed antimicrobial resistance since chairing an independent commission set up at the UK government’s request from 2014 to 2016.
The commission’s report is still frequently cited, and O’Neill says its recommendations became a gold standard on the issue.
He now leads an effort to create an advance market commitment to encourage point-of-care tests for neonatal sepsis in developing countries.
Drug resistance in neonatal sepsis is an increasingly urgent problem, he says.
- Who
- Jim O’Neill, who chaired an independent commission on antimicrobial resistance and now leads an initiative to encourage tests for neonatal sepsis.
- What
- O’Neill says drug resistance is being neglected amid tight budgets. He is working to encourage development of point-of-care tests for neonatal sepsis.
- When
- He chaired the commission from 2014 to 2016. The article was published on 2 November 2026.
- Where
- The initiative focuses on developing countries. The independent commission was established at the UK government’s request.
- Why
- Drug resistance in neonatal sepsis is increasing, while tight public finances have left the broader problem largely unaddressed.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
O’Neill chaired an independent commission on antimicrobial resistance established at the UK government’s request.
O’Neill leads an effort to create an advance market commitment to encourage point-of-care tests for neonatal sepsis in developing countries.
- Commission chair
- Jim O’Neill
- Commission period
- 2014–2016
- Initiative
- Advance market commitment to encourage point-of-care tests for neonatal sepsis
- Target region
- Developing countries
- Problem
- Increasing drug resistance in neonatal sepsis
What people are saying
Drug-resistant bacteria are a problem that has been almost untouched because of tight public finances.
Drug resistance in neonatal sepsis is an increasingly urgent problem.