(New York Times) – Health experts, gathering at the U.N., have begun to shift their focus to try to provide access to basic drugs in countries where preventable deaths from infections occur too frequently.

For more than a decade, antimicrobial resistance has been framed as a problem of excess. The willy-nilly consumption of antibiotics, scientists said, have rendered the drugs less effective, leading to the unnecessary death of millions, many of them poor.

But as global health officials gathered at the United Nations on Thursday to discuss the challenges posed by antimicrobial resistance, many have been promoting a more expansive understanding of the problem. It’s one based on preventing treatable infections through improved sanitation, higher vaccination rates and increased access to anti-infective drugs in lower-income countries. (Read More)