The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raised fresh concerns over the rapid rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), calling for coordinated action to prevent worsening treatment failures and avoidable deaths.
The agency described AMR as a growing global emergency, with an estimated 4.7 million deaths from infections associated with drug resistance in 2021, including more than 1.14 million deaths directly linked to bacterial resistance.
NAFDAC Director General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, represented by Special Assistant Dr Gbenga Fajemirokun at the 2025 World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) in Lagos, called for tighter control of both human and veterinary drugs. She warned that misuse and overuse of antimicrobials are weakening Nigeria’s ability to treat infections effectively.
Adeyeye stressed the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health and urged stakeholders to recommit to tackling AMR as one of the most urgent and silent threats to public health.
She highlighted that this year’s WAAW theme, “Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future,” underscores the need for responsible practices not only in hospitals but also on farms, in veterinary clinics, and across food production systems.
Adeyeye explained that in human health, AMR leads to prolonged illness, treatment failures, and higher mortality, while in agriculture, indiscriminate use of antimicrobials for growth promotion and routine disease prevention creates a breeding ground for resistant pathogens. These pathogens can spread to humans through food, water, and direct contact with animals, making resistance a threat everywhere.
She outlined NAFDAC’s One Health-driven AMR strategy, built around four priorities: strengthening regulation and surveillance, improving stewardship in communities and hospitals, promoting rational use in animal care, and expanding engagement across the agricultural value chain.
According to her, the agency is intensifying oversight of human and veterinary antimicrobials, curbing substandard and falsified drugs, enforcing quality standards, and improving post-marketing surveillance.
Adeyeye added that antimicrobials for animals must be used strictly under veterinary supervision, never for growth promotion or as substitutes for good farm practices.
The DG disclosed partnerships with farmers, feed producers, and industry stakeholders to encourage vaccination, biosecurity, and improved farm management as alternatives to routine antimicrobial use.
NAFDAC is also regulating medicated feeds to prevent non-therapeutic use, and the agency continues nationwide campaigns emphasising that responsible antimicrobial use is a shared responsibility.
She urged healthcare professionals and veterinarians to follow evidence-based guidelines when prescribing and administering antimicrobials. Farmers are encouraged to embrace good husbandry and hygiene practices, and pharmacists are advised to dispense antimicrobials only with valid prescriptions.
Nigerians are also encouraged to avoid self-medication and demand responsibly produced food, while the media is called upon to amplify AMR awareness.
Reiterating concerns about surveillance gaps, Adeyeye warned that untreated infections and unregulated drug use could deepen the crisis if urgent action is not taken, stressing that Nigeria’s ability to maintain effective treatment options “will be won or lost based on collective efforts across the human–animal–environment interface.”
In her remarks, the Director of NAFDAC’s Veterinary Medicine and Allied Products Directorate, Mrs Temitayo Adeoye, said AMR threatens the foundations of modern medicine and national food security, attributing rising resistance to widespread misuse of antimicrobials in humans and animals, as well as the release of drug residues into the environment.
IN a related development, NAFDAC emphasised the need to strengthen AMR surveillance, biosafety, and climate-smart agriculture through a One Health Approach.
At a two-day training workshop organised by the Danida Alumni Network Nigeria (DAN-NG) in collaboration with Danida Fellowship Centre and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NAFDAC Chief Regulatory Officer and DAN-NG National Coordinator, Sidikat Kamal, stressed the need to find local solutions to AMR.
Kamal highlighted that low awareness among Nigerian farmers about antimicrobial resistance remains a challenge. The workshop, a strategic cooperation involving NAFDAC, the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Food Security, and the Danish Veterinary Food Administration, aimed to address critical national problems.
Alumni of DAN-NG, including Ebere Ezeudegbunam and Mrs. Sarah Ajayi of NAFDAC, underscored the importance of collaboration across human, animal, plant, and ecosystem sectors to prevent and manage the spread of resistance.
Agriculture, they said, is a major component of the One Health approach as it determines how animals are treated, while the Danida Fellowship provides a platform for driving innovative change within the country.
