Nigeria has achieved a significant milestone in the global fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), as its homegrown innovation, Com-WATCH, was named one of two winners of the 2025 Trinity Challenge.
Prof. Dame Sally Davies, the UK Special Envoy on AMR and Executive Chair of the Trinity Challenge, announced the winners via webinar, commending their groundbreaking contributions to antibiotic access.
The global competition awarded £1 million in total, with £500,000 going to Nigeria’s Com-WATCH and an equal amount to the Paper Analytical Devices (PADs) project, which operates across five African countries.
AMR occurs when germs such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi stop responding to medicines, making infections far more difficult to treat.
It is driven by the misuse of antibiotics, their overuse in humans and animals, and the spread of fake or poor-quality drugs.
In simple terms, AMR means once-treatable common infections could again become deadly.
Davies praised the winners’ creativity, saying their solutions would “fill knowledge gaps and inform decision-makers.”
She added: “They show that everyone can make a difference and be part of the solution to the antibiotic emergency.”
However, she also warned that antimicrobial resistance could cause up to 39 million deaths worldwide within the next 25 years, with low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Nigeria, expected to bear the heaviest burden.
“Of the 7.75 million people who die of bacterial sepsis annually, nearly three million could be treated with simple antibiotics like penicillin or amoxicillin,” she said.
Across Africa, experts note that many communities are either unable to access these medicines or fall victim to counterfeit and substandard drugs.
Com-WATCH, Nigeria’s winning innovation, is an integrated, low-cost, data-driven technology designed to track antibiotic stocks and detect falsified or substandard medicines in local communities.
The tool will be accessible to medicine vendors, community health workers, agro-veterinarians, and ordinary citizens, empowering them to flag suspicious drugs and contribute real-time data for public health decision-making.
Dr Yemisi Ogundare of Jhpiego Nigeria, the team lead, said during the virtual award ceremony: “Our solution gives power back to the community.
“It allows people at the grassroots to generate data that informs decisions, helping to reduce antimicrobial resistance and improve the health of vulnerable Nigerians.”
The second winning project, PADs, led by Prof. Marya Lieberman of the University of Notre Dame, developed a paper-based test card capable of screening for antibiotics in just seven minutes using mobile technology.
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Lieberman confirmed that the project would expand to Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, and Namibia with its new funding.
Nigeria is currently implementing its National Action Plan on AMR 2.0, which is under review.
The plan identifies poor antibiotic regulation, over-the-counter misuse, and the prevalence of counterfeit drugs as the main drivers of resistance.
Stakeholders stressed that the problem extends beyond human health. They warned that the widespread use of antibiotics in livestock and aquaculture also fuels resistance, creating a “One Health” crisis that threatens food systems, the environment, and national health security.
Public health advocates have welcomed Com-WATCH as a vital surveillance tool that could strengthen Nigeria’s response, reduce preventable deaths, and build community trust in the healthcare system.
The Trinity Challenge, launched in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, supports data-driven innovations against global health threats.
In 2021, it awarded £5.7 million across eight initiatives on pandemic preparedness; in 2024, it distributed £2.7 million to four projects addressing antimicrobial resistance.
The 2025 edition attracted 171 applications from 51 countries, with Nigeria’s Com-WATCH emerging as one of the standout winners.