WHO Advises Responsible Use of Antibiotics
World Health Organisation has advise that the use of antibiotics be checked as it warned that Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) might lead to 10 million deaths by 2050 if its high global burden is not checked.
Technical Officer of AMR at WHO Nigeria Office, Dr Laxmikant Chavan, who spoke at the weekend during the four-day conference of Association of Nigeria Health Journalists, observed that AMR remains a major threat to human health globally, adding that roughly five million deaths were associated with bacterial resistance.
The global agency, while calling for a responsible use of existing antibiotics, said developing a new antibiotic could take up to 10-15 years, and cost more than $1 billion.
It, therefore, stressed that if people fail to overhaul the usage of antibiotics, the new drugs would suffer the same fate and become ineffective.
He said AMR was undermining gains of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and hindering attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The cost of AMR to national economies and development is significant. Under a worst-case scenario, AMR could cause a reduction in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) equal to that of the 2008 financial crisis.
Similarly, In his virtual presentation, Technical Officer, Vaccine Preventable Diseases Cluster (VPD), WHO, Dr Olayiwola Olanike, harped on the importance of sustainable health practices in Nigeria.
He canvassed a comprehensive approach to health determinants, ranging from environmental sustainability to community engagement.
Olanike highlighted the significance of multi-sectoral policies, disaster planning and inclusive programmes to achieve universal health coverage.
