Stakeholders call for strict enforcement of guidelines to control misuse of antimicrobials
Abuja - Veterinary stakeholders from across Nigeria have called for strict enforcement of national guidelines for the control of antimicrobials (AMR) use in both livestock and farming sectors in order to protect public health.
The stakeholders, who came relevant ministries, departments and agencies at both federal and state levels, the academia, research institutions and the private sector, made the call during a recent workshop in Abuja for developing the national guidelines on responsible use of antimicrobials in Nigeria.
The workshop was hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the Department of Veterinary and Pest Control Services (FDVPCS) of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD).
They stakeholders expressed their optimism that services in the subsector would be tremendously improved if the appropriate guidelines to control the use of antimicrobials were strictly implemented.
At the opening, FDVPCS Director who was represented by the Head of Epidemiology Department, Dr. Peter Umanah, said that when implemented, the developed guidelines would position the country on the right track to achieving the much anticipated global health security.
“This is a huge milestone in public health protection,” he said.
In her reaction, the Chairman of the Nigeria AMR Coordination Committee, Dr. Tochi Okwor, said that antimicrobial resistance is a major concern that requires all hands on the deck to solve, especially against the background that humans, animals and the environment are so intertwined and coexisting in the same space.
“The guidelines once finalized and enforced would definitely support the work that animal health workers would be doing, making things easier and set the country on the right track towards ensuring that standards are adhered to and respected,” she noted.
Dr. Okwor also leads the antimicrobial resistance infection prevention and control work at the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC).
On his part the Secretary General of the Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), Dr. Fadipe Oladotun, emphasized that indiscriminate use of antimicrobials has impeded the work of veterinarians in the country and that the association is seriously concerned, due to the effects they have on both animals and humans.
“It is long overdue for these guidelines to be enforced in Nigeria,” he said adding: “Most of those making use of the antibiotics do not know about the withdrawal period. If these withdrawal rules are not followed, especially in food producing animals like ruminants, farmed fish, pigs and poultry, such animals once consumed by humans would lead to antimicrobial resistance in the human.”
So we believe ultimately that when the rational antimicrobial use is ensured in animals, it would also have a ripple positive effect on humans as well, he emphasized.
On her part, the National Project Coordinator of the Emergency Centre for Transboundary Diseases (ECTAD) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Nigera, Dr. Ayodele O. Majekodunmi, said that the workshop was aimed at providing an avenue for the stakeholders to develop the national guidelines.
“AMR is a major global threat of increasing concern to human and animal health. It also has implications on food safety and security, and economic well-being of millions of households. The health and economic consequences of AMR are potentially enormous,” she said.
She disclosed that this is why FAO is working closely with key partners such as the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), World Food Organization (WHO), member state governments and others in a global response against the threat of AMR
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Emmanuel Kihaule David Tsokar Opeyemi Olagunju
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