AMR: IHVN Mobilises Journalists To Tackle Nigeria’s Silent Public Health Crisis
Princess-Ekwi Ajide
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a growing threat that is making life-saving medicines less effective, is rapidly emerging as one of Nigeria’s most pressing public health challenges, prompting experts to call on journalists to lead efforts to raise awareness and drive behavioural change.
The Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria (IHVN), made the call at the opening of a two-day media training on antimicrobial resistance reporting in Abuja, organised in collaboration with the Nigeria AMR Media Alliance (NAMA) under the Antimicrobial Stewardship Education Programme (A-STEP).
Representing the Chief Executive Officer of IHVN, Dr Patrick Dakum, Dr Eriobu Nnakelu said the media has a vital role in translating scientific findings into information the public can easily understand.
“We can have all the science, but if journalists do not communicate it to the public, then the science becomes useless,” he said, warning that antimicrobial resistance is a silent epidemic with serious health and economic consequences.
Also speaking, Assistant Professor and Global Health Researcher at the University of Waterloo, Canada, Dr Charity Oga-Omenka, said studies suggest nearly 70 per cent of Nigerians obtain antibiotics without prescription, a practice fuelling antimicrobial resistance.
She urged Nigerians to avoid self-medication, stressing that only proper medical consultation and laboratory testing can determine the right treatment for infections.
Founder of the Nigeria AMR Media Alliance, Ojoma Akor, challenged journalists to embrace evidence-based reporting that promotes accountability, influences public health policy and increases public understanding of AMR from a One Health perspective.
The training aims to strengthen journalists’ capacity to report accurately on antimicrobial resistance and encourage the responsible use of antimicrobial medicines across Nigeria.
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