The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) says antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is set to become one of the biggest threats to global health.
The NCDC said it could push millions of people into extreme poverty, reverse decades of medical progress and cause millions of deaths a year.
NCDC Director General Jide Idris stated this at the side event on AMR at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79), organised by Management Science for Health (MSH).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medications, making infections more difficult to treat.
It increases the risk of disease spread, serious illness and death, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO estimates that antimicrobial resistance could cause up to 10 million deaths a year by 2050 if effective measures are not taken to address it.
With a projected population of over 400 million by 2050, Nigeria’s success in combating AMR is vital to mitigating its dire consequences.
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Mr Idris said urgent action was needed to combat this growing crisis as it threatened lives and livelihoods around the world.
According to him, AMR is driven by several factors, including the global use and misuse of antibiotics in both human and animal health.
He said this is also due to lack of access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate infection prevention measures and weak surveillance systems.
“To effectively address antimicrobial resistance, we must recognize that this crisis affects multiple sectors. Collaboration between health, agriculture, the environment and industry is essential.
“Taking a ‘one health’ approach that brings these sectors together is critical to ensuring a holistic response,” she said.
He highlighted Nigeria’s National Action Plan on AMR, as part of its commitment to address the issue of AMR in the country.
“This reflects our determination to integrate AMR interventions into broader development and health security frameworks,” he said.
“Our four-point agenda reflects this commitment.
“We are investing in modernizing healthcare facilities to improve AMR surveillance and treatment capabilities, improving diagnostics and integrating data systems to better monitor resistance patterns.
“Improving laboratory capacity for surveillance is one of the pillars of an effective response to AMR.
“Surveillance is critical to understanding the spread of antimicrobial resistance and informing evidence-based policies,” he said.
He explained that through the NCDC, Nigeria had made significant progress in improving diagnostic laboratory networks to increase the capacity to track and monitor AMR and also improve early detection of outbreaks.
He said a coordinated approach to addressing AMR was urgently needed, describing it as a global development challenge.
He said achieving universal health coverage was one of the important steps in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.
“Without access to healthcare, many people will resort to inappropriate informal treatments, including the misuse of antibiotics, which has led to the spread of resistance.
“In Nigeria, we are working to ensure that access to quality healthcare is a right of all citizens and not a privilege of a few.
“Expanding universal health coverage means that more Nigerians will have access to proper diagnosis and correct use of antibiotics and timely interventions for infections.
“In addition, this strategy is the primary health care system, which is essential to reduce the burden of infectious diseases and prevent unnecessary use of antibiotics.
“A resilient supply chain is essential to ensure the availability of quality antibiotics and diagnostics while preventing the circulation of substandard or falsified medicines,” he said.
The NCDC chief said improving the supply chain was a critical element in the fight against AMR, adding that the Nigerian government is working to strengthen pharmaceutical distribution systems.
“We are also improving oversight and regulation of antibiotic sales to prevent misuse and restrict access to restricted medicines,” he said.
NAN recalls that AMR occurs when microbes evolve to resist drugs intended to treat them.
While AMR occurs naturally over time, it is now accelerating due to the misuse and overuse of antibiotics in healthcare, agriculture, and veterinary practices.
This misuse not only makes antibiotics less effective but could also cause common infections to become untreatable.
AMR causes 700,000 deaths each year worldwide, a figure that could rise to 10 million by 2050.
Furthermore, uncontrolled disposal of antimicrobials contributes to environmental pollution and further spreads resistance.
Addressing AMR requires behavioural change based on gender-sensitive research, as gender influences access to healthcare and prescribing patterns.
Studies show that women may be more likely to receive unnecessary antibiotics in some settings, while men are more likely to contract AMR infections due to behaviors such as inadequate handwashing.
Gender norms and inequalities play a key role in shaping the behaviours that drive AMR, so integrating gender into AMR interventions is essential to achieve more effective solutions.
(YAYA)