In a bid to fight against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Nigeria, the Federal Government has launched a comprehensive policy to combat AMR in the Environment Sector.
Speaking during the launch, the Minister of State for Environment, Dr Iziaq Salako, stated that antibiotics play a critical role in the reduction of the burden of communicable disease all over the world.
“However, resistance to previously potent antibiotics has become a major problem of major public health significance requiring a range of interventions and multidisciplinary approaches.
He noted that the growing trend of resistance to antibiotics calls for global action to monitor and control unnecessary use of antibiotics in humans and animals which eventually gets to the environment.
He further stated that antimicrobial resistance is not only a public health threat, but has huge implications for global economic wellbeing and security, affecting both developed and developing countries.
“AMR is listed by the World Health Organization as one of the ten top threats to global health. According to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), AMR is a global crisis that cannot be understood or addressed separately from the triple planetary crisis.
“ The report of the 2022 Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) report highlights alarming resistance rates among bacterial pathogens that cause the deadliest infections with other pathogens like virus, fungi and protozoa also becoming resistant.
“This report shows that the AMR threat is growing at an alarming rate making treatment challenging with longer hospital stays, increased mortality and higher healthcare cost.
“The World Bank estimates that AMR could result in $1tn additional healthcare costs by 2050, and $1tn to $3.4tn gross domestic product (GDP) losses per year by 2030,” he said.
Salako however said that Nigeria as a responsible member of the global community is committed to adopting a holistic approach to addressing AMR to ensure efficient use of scarce resources.
He noted that though Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Environment has embarked on a number activities aimed at laying a solid foundation for AMR surveillance in the environment sector, a lot still needs to be done for the sector to come up to speed and be at par with other One Health sectors with regards to AMR management.
“It is in this context and in line with the mandate of the ministry that this policy on national antimicrobial resistance for the environment sector has been developed,” he said.
The minister added that the development of the policy will further enhance the capacity of Nigeria to meet her obligations under the international health regulation and other global health security agreements that she is signatory to.
“ This is in line with the Renewed Hope mantra of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led administration ‘to improve Nigeria standing and dignity among the comity of Nations’,” he said.
He called on all the stakeholders involved to help to sensitize and enlighten the populace on antimicrobial resistance menace and also support efforts to combat it, thereby protecting the environment and saving lives.