Stakeholders have called for increased funding, stronger public awareness, and coordinated action to effectively curb antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Nigeria.
They made the call in Abuja on Thursday at a multi-stakeholder engagement on resource allocation for AMR surveillance and containment in the country.
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In her presentation titled “National AMR Landscape – Policies, Surveillance and Resource Allocations in Nigeria,” Omolara Oyinlola, a global health and strategic communications specialist, described AMR as a One Health challenge affecting humans, animals and the environment.
Ms Oyinlola said that although Nigeria has made incremental improvements in AMR surveillance, significant gaps remain.
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She noted that surveillance networks exist across the human, animal and environmental sectors, supported by national reference laboratories, but these systems still require substantial strengthening.
She listed weak enforcement of antimicrobial regulations, limited public awareness, and insufficient surveillance data as key factors hindering national progress.
According to her, a shortage of trained personnel, minimal involvement of sub-national actors and inadequate budgetary allocation further undermine efforts to control AMR.
She stressed that AMR is as much a financing problem as it is a technical one, noting that surveillance and containment efforts fail when budgets are absent, fragmented or short-term.
She warned that without adequate funding, activities aimed at tackling AMR may not yield the expected results.
“When there is no budget to support our activities, our efforts may not yield results,” she said.
Ms Oyinlola added that the global economy could lose an estimated $100 trillion to AMR by 2050, while Nigeria requires about $77 million to effectively address the threat.
AMR prevalence
AMR is the ability of microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, to survive and grow despite exposure to medicines designed to kill them or stop their growth.
When these microorganisms become resistant, antimicrobial medicines, including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitic drugs, no longer work effectively, making infections significantly harder to treat.
AMR develops gradually, often due to the misuse or overuse of antimicrobial medicines, poor infection prevention practices, and the spread of resistant strains across communities, healthcare facilities, food systems, and the environment.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently warned that AMR remains a silent but escalating threat, claiming more than 60,000 lives in Nigeria every year.
According to WHO estimates, the country has been recording this burden annually since 1990, underscoring the deep-rooted nature of the problem.
In 2021 alone, Nigeria recorded an estimated 50,500 deaths directly attributable to AMR and 227,000 associated deaths, with children under five bearing the heaviest toll.
Global burden
WHO estimates that antimicrobial resistance was associated with 4.71 million deaths in 2021, including 1.14 million directly attributable to drug-resistant infections.
It also noted that Sub-Saharan Africa alone, recorded about 250,000 deaths in the same year.
Also, it indicates that the world loses an estimated 178 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) to AMR, and projections indicate the crisis could cost the global economy nearly $1 trillion annually if left unchecked.
Recent modelling also shows that AMR could claim up to 39 million lives by 2050.
Calls for stronger collaboration and financing
Speaking at the event, Laz Eze, a public health policy and management professional, described AMR as a major public health challenge that “affects everybody,” noting that resistance has made it increasingly difficult for antibiotics and other antimicrobials to work effectively.
“Because of the difficulty in treating some of these conditions, many people are having complications, and many are dying,” he said.
Mr Eze emphasised that improved and sustained financing remains essential for surveillance, laboratory capacity and community education.
He called for “deliberate investments that match the scale of the AMR threat” and urged stronger collaboration between government, civil society organisations and development partners.
“Government alone cannot solve this problem. CSOs, private sector actors and communities must be part of the response,” he said.
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Also speaking, Grace Tyowua, a deputy director at the National Assembly, said financing health projects is crucial to ensuring Nigeria can effectively respond to AMR and other emerging health threats.
Mrs Tyowua said legislative support for AMR interventions would improve accountability, strengthen resource allocation and ensure that approved funds are released and utilised.
“We must prioritise health financing and ensure that AMR activities are properly funded, monitored and evaluated,” she said.
She added that stronger collaboration between the executive and legislative arms would help sustain long-term AMR programmes.
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