Researcher ORCID Identifier

0009-0006-6461-9496

Graduation Year

2026

Date of Submission

12-2025

Document Type

Open Access Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

International Relations

Reader 1

Lisa Koch

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Rights Information

© 2025 Mia C Kelly

Abstract

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) has emerged as one of the most pressing yet widely underestimated health threats of the 21st century; this thesis explores the potentially devastating global impact of this “silent pandemic”, exposing how deeply health outcomes depend on political choices, regulatory capacity, and economic constraints. Although the danger of spreading drug-resistant pathogens is now widely acknowledged in both the scientific and political communities, states differ in their abilities to contain the issue, with low- and middle-income countries facing the greatest obstacles to national action plan implementation. This thesis investigates these disparities through a comparison of India and Nigeria, two major states in the Global South confronting both severe resistance patterns and significant funding and infrastructure gaps. Drawing on policy documents, public health data, and secondary research, this study examines how India’s large pharmaceutical manufacturing industry and Nigeria’s dependence on imported drugs have shaped each country’s response to AMR; analysis shows that India has been able to reach some subnational success despite fragmented coordination, while Nigeria’s efforts are limited by weak regulatory oversight and a reliance on external donors. This comparison demonstrates that AMR cannot be understood solely as a biological process but as a product of governance, markets, and structural inequities that determine the success of national action plans. Ultimately, this thesis highlights the urgent need for international actors to address the structural inequities that drive global vulnerability to AMR and pursue coordinated, adequately financed, long-term political commitment to face this escalating threat.

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