Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has warned that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is emerging as one of the biggest threats to human and planetary health, urging Nigerians to stop the indiscriminate use of antibiotics and antimalarial medicines.
Abayomi said the growing problem required coordinated action involving government, healthcare professionals, pharmacists, medicine vendors, farmers and the general public, stressing that government alone could not tackle antimicrobial resistance.
He spoke during the 2026 Pharmacy Week organised by the Lagos State Branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN).
According to him, every unnecessary or inappropriate use of antibiotics and antimalarials gives microorganisms another opportunity to adapt and survive the medicines designed to eliminate them.
He explained that the problem does not end with the use of the medicines, as residues are subsequently excreted by humans and animals and can enter the environment, contributing to the wider spread of antimicrobial resistance.
“One Health is not a slogan. It is a warning,” the Commissioner said, emphasising the interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental health.
Abayomi identified unrestricted access to prescription medicines, self-medication and treatment without appropriate diagnosis as major contributors to the problem.
He described a common but dangerous pathway in which a person who feels unwell assumes that he or she has malaria, goes to a medicine vendor or pharmacy and purchases an antimalarial without first obtaining a proper diagnosis.
The appropriate pathway, he said, should involve consultation with a qualified healthcare provider, followed by history-taking, examination, appropriate testing, diagnosis and a treatment plan.
Nigeria’s malaria treatment policy has for years promoted a test-before-treatment approach, requiring suspected malaria to be confirmed through appropriate diagnostic testing before antimalarial treatment is commenced, except where clinical guidelines provide otherwise.
Abayomi therefore called on pharmacists and medicine vendors to support enforcement of the policy by avoiding inappropriate dispensing of antimalarial medicines without evidence of malaria infection.
He similarly urged pharmacists and drug vendors not to dispense antibiotics without prescriptions.
The Commissioner said the Nigeria National Prescription and Dispensing Policy should be domesticated in Lagos State to strengthen regulation and help curb unrestricted access to prescription-only medicines.
He also called on clinicians to prescribe antimicrobials responsibly and undertake appropriate diagnostic work-up before treatment.
Farmers and animal husbandry practitioners, he said, also had an important role to play by using antimicrobials responsibly and observing appropriate withdrawal periods before animals treated with such medicines enter the food market.
For members of the public, Abayomi urged them to stop self-medicating with antibiotics or demanding such medicines without professional medical advice.
He further asked the pharmacy profession to help the Lagos State Ministry of Health map the state’s pharmaceutical ecosystem to provide accurate data on the available workforce.
He also advocated stronger referral pathways linking pharmacies and medicine outlets with clinical services.
“These medicines are becoming less effective, and we are running out of options,” Abayomi warned, stressing the need to protect the effectiveness of antimicrobial medicines that could be needed to save lives.
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond adequately to medicines used to treat the infections they cause.
The result can be treatment failure, prolonged illness, increased healthcare costs and a greater risk of death.
The One Health approach recognises that human health is closely connected to the health of animals and the environment, making coordinated action across these sectors essential to containing AMR.
