By Blessing Bature
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, has disclosed that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was linked to more than 64,000 deaths in Nigeria in 2019, warning that the growing threat could undermine decades of medical progress.
Pate said the deaths occurred at a time when only 42.7 per cent of Nigeria’s population had access to healthcare.
He spoke in Abuja at the launch of the National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) 2.0, organised by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
The minister said a situation analysis of antimicrobial resistance in Nigeria revealed that the problem was widespread among humans, animals, food crops and the environment, underscoring the need for a coordinated response across sectors.
He described AMR as an escalating public health threat capable of weakening the effectiveness of existing medicines and compromising essential medical procedures.
“AMR threatens the very foundation of modern medicine, rendering routine procedures, surgeries, and treatments less effective, and at times, ineffective,” he said.
Pate warned that failure to address the problem could result in up to 10 million deaths annually worldwide by 2050, adding that antimicrobial resistance could surpass cancer as a leading cause of death globally if urgent and sustained interventions were not implemented.
Beyond its health implications, the minister said AMR could trigger severe economic consequences, with global losses projected to exceed $100 trillion.
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, develop the ability to survive medicines that previously killed them or stopped their growth.
The development makes infections more difficult to treat, prolongs illnesses, increases healthcare costs and raises the risk of death.
Health experts identify the misuse and overuse of antimicrobial medicines in humans, animals and agriculture as major drivers of resistance.
Inappropriate prescriptions and failure to complete prescribed treatments can contribute to the problem, while the use of antibiotics in livestock farming, including for growth promotion, can accelerate the development of resistant microorganisms.
The spread of these organisms between humans, animals and the environment further complicates efforts to contain the threat, highlighting the importance of the One Health approach.
To strengthen Nigeria’s response, the Federal Government introduced the National Action Plan on AMR 2.0, a revised framework building on the national action plan adopted in 2017.
Pate said the revised plan demonstrated the government’s determination to confront the challenge through coordinated and sustained interventions over the next five years.
“This revised action plan reflects our resolve to meet these challenges head-on. It is rooted in some strategic objectives that will guide our efforts over the next five years,” he said.
The Co-chair of the AMR Technical Working Group, Kabir Junaid, said the adoption of the document was critical to guiding national priorities and strengthening interventions to curb antimicrobial resistance.
According to him, the plan is built around six strategic objectives, including strengthening leadership and surveillance systems, raising public awareness, implementing infection prevention and control programmes, improving access to quality antimicrobials, and building the knowledge and capacity of relevant stakeholders.
The plan is expected to provide a framework for improving coordination, strengthening surveillance and promoting the responsible use of antimicrobial medicines across human health, animal health, agriculture and environmental sectors.
