₦airaland Forum

NAFDAC Marks 2025 World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, Calls for Urgent Action to Curb Resistance

NAFDAC joined the global community to commemorate the 2025 World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) with the theme “Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future.” The Agency emphasised the urgent need for coordinated action to address Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), one of the most critical public health threats of this generation.

Speaking at the event, the Director-General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, represented by Dr. Gbenga Fajemirokun, highlighted that AMR is not only a medical challenge but a One Health issue affecting humans, animals, and the environment. She warned that the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in hospitals, veterinary practices, agriculture, and food production continue to accelerate the spread of resistant pathogens. “Resistance anywhere is a threat everywhere,” she noted, stressing the need for immediate and sustained action.

Prof. Adeyeye outlined NAFDAC’s AMR containment strategy, built on a multi-sectoral One Health framework. The key priorities include strengthening regulation and surveillance of veterinary and human antimicrobials; promoting rational use of antimicrobials in animal care; partnering with farmers, veterinarians, and the livestock industry to improve biosecurity and reduce non-therapeutic antibiotic use; and sustaining nationwide enlightenment campaigns to promote responsible antimicrobial use across all sectors.

The Director-General also issued a strong call to action: urging healthcare professionals and veterinarians to prescribe responsibly, farmers to adopt good husbandry and vaccination practices, pharmacists to dispense only with valid prescriptions, and the public to avoid self-medication. She also encouraged the media to continue amplifying AMR awareness nationwide.

Prof. Adeyeye expressed appreciation to national and international partners, including the Fleming Fund and the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, for their continued support in strengthening AMR surveillance and capacity-building efforts. She reaffirmed NAFDAC’s commitment to leadership, collaboration, and innovation in safeguarding Nigeria’s health security.

NAFDAC calls on all stakeholders to join in combating AMR. By acting now, Nigeria can protect its present and secure a safer, healthier future for generations to come.

BigYash:
Nafdac still dey exist? na wah o

May the soul of Dora of blessed memory,the ex DG continue to rest in peace

Dpharmacist:
Someone might ask, what is this antimicrobial Resistance week and awareness we have been talking about.

What is Antimicrobial Resistance?
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites evolve to resist the drugs designed to kill them. This means common infections become harder or even impossible to treat. It’s one of the greatest threats to global health, food security, and development today.

Why should you care?

AMR is not a distant threat it’s here, it’s real, and it’s silently rewriting the future of healthcare. According to the World Health Organization, bacterial AMR was directly responsible for 1.27 million deaths in 2019 and contributed to 4.95 million deaths worldwide. Imagine a world where a simple infection becomes untreatable, where routine surgeries carry life-threatening risks, and where decades of medical progress unravel. That’s the trajectory if we don’t act.

But here’s the revolutionary truth: small actions, multiplied across millions, can bend history.

In 2025 AMR Awareness Week titled "Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future”, I’m inviting my network to become AMR Activators. Together, we can ignite a movement that safeguards lives, protects progress, and builds a sustainable healthcare future.

Emeka71:
And so? and so? and so? times 3.

Emeka71:
And so? and so? and so? times 3.