The World Health Organisation, W.H.O warned that the misuse of antibiotics is dangerous to health and can put people at risk.
WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, while speaking in Abuja, as part of activities to mark the World Antibiotic Awareness Week, said that it killed seven-hundred thousand people worldwide annually.
He explained that Antimicrobial Resistance, AMR endangered health security and the progress towards Universal Health Coverage, UHC, by threatening to reverse medical advances of the twentieth century.
Moeti, who was represented by W.H.O Officer-in-Charge, Clement Peters said, they are seeing high resistance to common pathogens such as 98 per cent fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli, meaning there are limited treatment options for people that get this infection. She said W.H.O and other partners were working with countries to address these challenges by implementing “One Health” national action plans.
The Expert explained that the key challenges in combating AMR include: weak regulatory systems facilitating proliferation of sub-standard and falsified medicines; limited implementation of standards for clean water, sanitation and hygiene, and to prevent and control infections; and a lack of reliable data.
