Federal Government has unveiled the National Antimicrobial Resistance Policy (AMR) to forestall public health threat in the country.

Dr Iziaq Salako, Minister of State for Environment, stated this on Thursday in Abuja at the inauguration of the National Antimicrobial policy and Strategic Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (2023-2027) Environment Sector.

He said that the nation stood to gain socio-economic benefits from the effective implementation of the AMR policy through improved public health and increased productivity.

“Antimicrobial resistance is not only a public health threat; it has huge implications for global economic wellbeing and security, affecting both developed and developing countries.

“Nigeria, as a responsible member of the global community, is committed to adopting a holistic approach to addressing AMR; to ensuring all of sector involvement; no duplication and efficient use of scarce resources.

“To achieve this and protect public health, food security and the environment, the recognition of the interconnectedness between human, animal and environmental health in line with the One Health principles is central.’’

The minister said that AMR was listed by the World Health Organisation as one of the 10 top threats to global health.

“According to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), AMR is a global crisis that cannot be understood or addressed separately from the triple planetary crisis.

“This report shows that AMR threat is growing at an alarming rate making treatment challenging with longer hospital stays, increased mortality and higher healthcare cost.’’

He said that the World Bank estimated that AMR could result in 1 trillion dollars additional healthcare costs by 2050 and 1 trillion dollars to 3.4 trillion dollars gross domestic product (GDP) losses per year by 2030.