Stakeholders Call For Political Will To Address Anti Microbial Resistant

As Nigeria commemorates the World Antibiotics Awareness Week (WAAW), stakeholders have called on the government to show more political will to curb Anti Microbial Resistance in the country.

Former Nigeria minister of health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, while speaking at the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), Policy Dialogue to commemorate World Antibiotics Awareness Week, in Abuja.

He said that AMR has become a global campaign and that Nigeria needs to take it more seriously by committing funds to the programme.

He noted that a lot of awareness needs to be created to curb misuse of antibiotics in Nigeria.

Antimicrobial Resistance

He said that the usefulness of these medications continues to be threatened by antimicrobial resistance, a challenge faced by many countries including Nigeria.

The Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control(NCDC), Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, says when antibiotics are used excessively and inappropriately, they can end up killing the good bacteria and creating resistance in the bad ones to antimicrobials medicines.

He said that antimicrobials save countless lives around the world every day.

“They are responsible for huge progress in medicine, allowing us to prevent and treat diseases and infections. But our persistent misuse of antimicrobials puts this in danger. Antimicrobials, which include antibiotics, are life-saving medicines that are used daily to treat – and prevent – infections from microorganisms,” he said.

He also said that public education has helped Nigerians to get better at realising that antibiotics should be used sparingly.

He also said that antibiotic resistance had become one of the biggest threats to the health globally.

The World Health Organisation(WHO),Representative in Nigeria, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo said that antibiotic resistance was rising to dangerously high levels in all parts of the world.

“Without urgent action, we are heading for a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries can once again kill. To put this in context, a future without effective antibiotics would mean that commonplace medical surgeries, such as hip replacements, cancer chemotherapy, organ transplants and the treatment of pre-term babies, would be far less safe. It’s a terrifying thought Predictions suggest that if we don’t radically change how antibiotics are used, antimicrobial resistance will kill more people by mid-century than other killer diseases of today,” Dr Mulombo said

He noted that worldwide, about two-thirds of all antibiotics were used in farm animals, not people.

“Much of this use is routine and enables the keeping of farmed animals in cruel, cramped and stressful conditions where diseases spread easily,” he said.

The Chairman of of the AMR Committee, Dr. Tochi Okwo, said that the dialogue was to foster discussion on new opportunities to finance the AMR National Action Plan and evaluate One Health response to AMR and funding.

She said that the major cause of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria is communicable diseases and these diseases were generally treated with antimicrobials.

“However, the usefulness of these medications continues to be threatened by Antimicrobial Resistance, a challenge faced by many countries including Nigeria.

“Globally, the numbers is staggering. At least 700,000 lives are lost every year because of AMR. This in turn has devastating effects on the global economy, amplifying inequality and deepening poverty“. Dr Okwo said.

With support from the UK Government through Fleming Fund, the World Health Organisation, Food and Agriculture Organisation and other partners, Nigeria continues to strengthen surveillance for AMR and antimicrobial use in the human, animal and environment health sectors.

The 2021 National Antimicrobial Awareness Week (NAAW) activities, the National AMR Secretariat organized one-day policy dialogue with the theme “AMR Response and Financing in Nigeria: Challenges and Opportunities’’.

The World Antibiotics Awareness Week (WAAW) takes place from Nov. 18th – 24th every year.

Lateefah Ibrahim