Lancet
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Each year, an estimated 7·7 million deaths are attributed to bacterial infections, of which 4.95 million are associated with drug-resistant pathogens, and 1·27 million are caused by bacterial pathogens resistant to the antibiotics available. Access to effective antibiotics when indicated prolongs life, reduces disability, reduces health-care expenses, and enables access to other life-saving medical innovations. Antimicrobial resistance undoes these benefits and is a major barrier to attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, including targets for newborn survival, progress on healthy ageing, and alleviation of poverty. ⋯ This paper, the first in a Series on the challenge of antimicrobial resistance, considers the global scope of the problem and how it should be measured. Robust and actionable data are needed to drive changes and inform effective interventions to contain resistance. Surveillance must cover all geographical regions, minimise biases towards hospital-derived data, and include non-human niches.