Stakeholders in the agricultural sector across West Africa have raised concerns on the current rate of Anti-microbial Resistance (AMR) in the region, saying it endangers modern human and veterinary medicine as well as undermines the safety of food and the environment.
This concern was raised on Tuesday at the on-going three-day regional conference with some Anglophone African countries (Ghana, Gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone among others) in Abuja.
The conference was organized by FAO, WHO and OIE, in collaboration with the government of Nigeria through the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Health and Environment to assess the current mitigation strategies, and associated legislations in West Africa among many others.
The Nigeria Country Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisations (FAO), Mr. Suffyan Koroma, said the misuse of antibiotics in agriculture contributes to the spread of AMR and also undermines the efficacy of veterinary and human medicines.
Koroma who was represented by Dr. Hover Boussin noted that it was a global crisis that poses a threat to public health as evidences have shown that the total volume of antibiotics used, also in food production drives resistance.
“Tackling antibiotic resistance there is a top priority for FAO and its sister agencies such as WHO and OIE, thence, a global action plan on antimicrobial resistance, including antibiotic resistance is a necessity.
The Permanent secretary Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Muhammed Bello Umar, said Nigeria is working with partners to address risk of antimicrobial.
He said the country will benefit from whatever may be the outcome of the meeting.
