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 usage of antibiotics, the new drugs would suffer the same fate and become ineffective.
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.
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,”he pointed out.
While decrying the increasing use of antimicrobial medicines, Chavan said global antibiotic consumption increased by 30 per cent between 2000 and 2010, from 50 billion standard units to 70 billion standard units.
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.
He stressed the correlation between health and the environment, urging a shift towards low-carbon solutions
