AMR: Nigeria Records 64,500 Deaths as Abuja Prepares for Global Health Conference
Nigeria recorded approximately 64,500 deaths linked to bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019, according to findings from a global study cited by the Federal Government.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, disclosed this during a webinar announcing Nigeria’s hosting of the fifth Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance scheduled for December 6 to 8, 2026, in Abuja.
Salako cited the 2022 Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance study published in The Lancet, which estimated that bacterial antimicrobial resistance directly caused 1.27 million deaths worldwide in 2019.
He warned that the global death toll could rise significantly if governments failed to take urgent action.
“Without action, more than 39 million deaths could be directly attributable to AMR between 2025 and 2050,” he said.
The conference, which will be the first to be hosted in Africa, will focus on the theme, “One Health: Advancing Global AMR Commitments to Local Action.”
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, described antimicrobial resistance as a silent pandemic that makes infections increasingly difficult to treat when disease-causing microorganisms develop resistance to available medicines.
He explained that infections such as pneumonia and typhoid could become harder to manage when healthcare providers use antibiotics without adequate knowledge of the medicines’ effectiveness against the organisms responsible.
“AMR is a hidden pandemic. It’s silent,” Pate said, emphasising the need for a coordinated response involving multiple government ministries and sectors.
According to him, antimicrobial resistance cannot be tackled through the health sector alone because the problem also involves livestock production, agriculture, environmental contamination and water management.
Pate said the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare had implemented antimicrobial stewardship programmes in federal hospitals over the past two and a half years.
He added that a clinical governance task force had been established to reduce hospital-acquired infections.
The ministry is also working with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria to improve access to genuine medicines, curb indiscriminate drug sales and strengthen diagnostic capacity.
The minister further identified the inappropriate use of antibiotics in livestock production as an area requiring urgent attention.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, warned that antimicrobial resistance could affect agricultural production, food safety and international trade.
He called for responsible antimicrobial use across the agricultural value chain to prevent the problem from worsening.
The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, said the spread of resistant microorganisms across humans, animals and the environment required joint action by the relevant ministries.
“Resistance does not respect boundaries. It moves from people to animals, from farms to food, and through water, soil and waste systems. No single ministry can win this fight alone,” Lawal said.
He disclosed that the four ministries had agreed to work through a joint One Health coordination mechanism to promote responsible antimicrobial use and strengthen accountability.
As part of the December conference, the government plans to adopt the Abuja Compact on Antimicrobial Resistance.
Salako said the compact was being developed through consultations with member states to ensure that international commitments translated into measurable action.
Nigeria Strengthens Ebola Surveillance
Pate also disclosed that Nigeria had strengthened its public health preparedness following the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and Port Health Services were monitoring potential threats, including through border surveillance.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu had established an Ebola task force chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President to coordinate the country’s response.
He stressed, however, that there was currently no evidence of an Ebola case in Nigeria.
FG Targets More Than $3bn in Additional Health Funding
The health minister also defended Nigeria’s health memorandum of understanding with the United States, describing it as a non-binding framework that respects Nigerian laws and policies.
He said the agreement provides for a transition by 2030, during which Nigeria would strengthen domestic health financing and reduce dependence on external funding.
Pate noted that the United States had supported Nigeria’s HIV, tuberculosis and malaria programmes for 25 years.
He added that following changes in US policy in 2025, President Tinubu approved a six per cent increase in the health budget.
The minister said the government was committed to mobilising more than $3 billion in additional health funding before 2030.
He dismissed concerns that the agreement undermined Nigeria’s sovereignty, insisting that its provisions were consistent with the country’s existing laws and policies.
Pate also urged Nigerians to verify information before sharing it publicly, warning against spreading misleading claims for social media attention.
