Expert Calls for Urgent Public Action To Curb Antibiotics Misuse
By Vincess Okushi
The reckless use of antibiotics in food animals is creating an adverse effect on human health, with experts warning of severe consequences from this silent epidemic.
Farmers across the globe, driven by the “quest for riches,” are increasingly misusing antibiotics to accelerate animal growth, ignoring the long-term hazards this practice poses to human health.
Studies reveal that this indiscriminate use is contributing to alarming rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a global crisis that threatens the efficacy of life-saving drugs.
According to evidence, self-prescription by farmers has resulted in 10.9% of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and 2.3% of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) cases.
However, the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture, combined with poor waste management, has led to contaminated food, water, and environments, exacerbating AMR’s deadly spread.
At a step-down training for members of the Association of Nigeria Health Journalists (ANHEJ), Dr Ayodele Majekodunmi, National Coordinator for the Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), raised the alarm about the looming danger.
The event, organized by Ojoma Akor, a Media-EIS Fellow with support from USAID’s Breakthrough ACTION-Nigeria, stressed the urgency of tackling this growing threat.
If you’ve ever bought antibiotics without a prescription or misused them for your animals, you’re part of the problem, and the solution. Dr. Majekodunmi stated.
Dr Majekodunmi further emphasized the importance of collaboration among individuals, industries, and policymakers to boost public education and behavioural change, which is crucial to reversing the trend.
We must all take personal responsibility. she urged
Noting that improved data, stronger leadership, and collective action can slow the march of AMR and safeguard medicines for future generations.
The expert is optimistic that AMR’s solution lies in robust awareness campaigns, strict enforcement of prescription-only antibiotics, and a unified global response to combat this menace ahead.
