The Federal Ministry of Environment has launched a national policy to combat Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in the environmental sector.
The new national AMR policy for the environment sector, which consists of 4 objectives, also articulates the requisite policy interventions and mapped out roles for public and private sector stakeholders.
The Minister of State for Environment, Iziaq Salako, who announced this at a conference in Abuja says the government is committed to adopting a holistic approach to addressing AMR to ensure all sector involvement, no duplication and efficient use of scarce resources.
According to the governor, “To achieve this and protect public health, food security and the environment, the recognition of the interconnectedness between human, animal and environmental health in line with the One Health principles is central”.
Salako acknowledged that despite previous efforts at curtailing the spread of the disease, a lot still needs to be done for the environment sector to come up to speed and be at par with the health sector concerning AMR management.
Speaking further, the country representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation ad-interim in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Koffy Kouacou Dominique, says if countries do not do anything, 10 million people will die of the scourge.
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines.
The scourge is one of the top global public health and development threats which directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019 and contributed to 4.95 million deaths.
Low- and middle-income countries including Nigeria, account for nearly 90% of the direct death toll.
