Halfway to salvation, or halfway to hell?

For this themed issue, the purpose of this paper is to select papers that examine progress on addressing concerns raised in one of the Journal’s 2015 viewpoint articles.

The authors contributing to this issue describe the evolution, current state and challenges facing development of antimicrobial stewardship initiatives in their communities. This editorial summarizes concerns raised in the 2015 viewpoint and provides a link to newer information for each of these problems.

Progress is being made to build the political will for implementing initiatives that of necessity must span a wide swath of jurisdictions and national agencies in each country; the information resources necessary to maintain current awareness of evolving drug usage and resistance patterns; the infrastructure required to educate both public and professionals; and at least monitor if not ensure compliance.

The concepts and experiences reported in this issue can inform policy and governance development in countries that are not as far along the path, as well as contribute to a global dialogue on what works best for whom under what circumstances.

Details in this themed issue expand on overviews provided in a recent World Health Organization report. This Journal intends to contribute to the advancement of timely knowledge translation by welcoming more papers on this topic, papers at a level of detail like those in this issue, so that our readers can remain abreast of the changing global context.