Nigeria: Federal Government Admits Significant AMR Surveillance Gaps

• Nigeria's Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, admitted significant gaps in the nation's antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance capabilities.
• Current estimates of drug-resistant infections in Nigeria are likely understated due to these data collection deficiencies.
• The country's One Health Antimicrobial Resistance National Action Plan 2024-2028 estimated 64,500 deaths attributable to AMR in 2019, with 263,400 associated deaths.
• Abuja will host the fifth Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on AMR from December 6 to 8, 2026, marking the first time the event is held in Africa.
• Nigeria launched its first nationally representative AMR survey in December 2025 to establish a baseline and improve routine surveillance across 40-45 health facilities.

Minister Pate candidly stated that Nigeria's specific AMR figures are likely to differ from those reported by nations with more robust surveillance infrastructure, directly attributing this discrepancy to the identified gaps in monitoring capabilities.

Nigeria's federal government has openly acknowledged significant deficiencies in its systems for tracking antimicrobial resistance (AMR), indicating that current estimates may not fully capture the true extent of drug-resistant infections within the country. This admission came from Muhammad Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, during a joint One Health ministerial briefing held in Abuja. Minister Pate emphasized that while evidence of AMR exists in Nigerian hospitals, the pervasive surveillance gaps severely impede the ability to generate precise national estimates.

Minister Pate's remarks were made in anticipation of the fifth Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on AMR, which is slated to take place in Abuja from December 6 to 8, 2026. This landmark event will be the first of its kind to be hosted on African soil, carrying the theme, "One Health: Advancing Global AMR Commitments to Local Action." The Minister candidly stated that Nigeria's specific AMR figures are likely to differ from those reported by nations with more robust surveillance infrastructure, directly attributing this discrepancy to the identified gaps in monitoring capabilities.

Antimicrobial resistance, a phenomenon where bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites develop immunity to medications designed to treat infections, poses a profound public health threat. Minister Pate characterized AMR as a "hidden pandemic," noting that resistant infections often go unrecognized as the underlying cause of prolonged illnesses or failed treatments. He highlighted instances in Nigerian hospitals where patients suffering from complicated pneumonia received multiple antibiotics without improvement, with AMR later identified as the root cause, leading to extended suffering, complications, or even fatalities.

Nigeria's One Health Antimicrobial Resistance National Action Plan 2024-2028 provides sobering estimates, suggesting that 64,500 deaths in Nigeria in 2019 were directly attributable to AMR, with an additional 263,400 deaths associated with it. However, the plan itself cautions that these figures are likely underestimates due to the existing gaps in national AMR surveillance. Globally, the 2019 Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) study reported that bacterial AMR was directly responsible for 1.27 million deaths and associated with 4.95 million deaths worldwide, underscoring the universal scale of this health crisis.

In response to these critical challenges, Nigeria is actively pursuing initiatives to enhance its capacity for generating reliable AMR data. December 2025 saw the launch of the country's inaugural nationally representative AMR survey, designed to establish a foundational baseline for antimicrobial resistance and bolster routine surveillance efforts. This extensive survey is planned to encompass 40 to 45 randomly selected health facilities across Nigeria and will involve approximately 35,000 patients suspected of having bloodstream infections. Its objectives include assessing the overall burden of AMR, including morbidity, mortality, and the economic costs of resistant infections, while simultaneously strengthening laboratory and data management systems.

Further highlighting the need for improvement, a 2025 study evaluating 302 laboratories in Nigeria uncovered significant deficiencies in their ability to support AMR surveillance. The findings revealed that only 7.3 percent of the surveyed laboratories were deemed fully prepared for AMR surveillance, and merely 12.3 percent reported active participation in such activities. The study also pointed out that existing AMR surveillance efforts are predominantly concentrated in government and tertiary laboratories, leaving lower-level and rural facilities underutilized and creating substantial gaps in community-level data. The Nigerian government is addressing AMR through a comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy that integrates the health, agriculture, livestock, and environment sectors, complemented by an antimicrobial stewardship program operated by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

Lawyers and compliance officers in Nigeria, particularly those advising healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, or agricultural sectors, should anticipate increased regulatory focus and potential new compliance requirements related to antimicrobial stewardship and surveillance, given the government's explicit admission of data gaps and the upcoming international conference on AMR.

Source: Original reporting via Premium Times