The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has completed a 10 years review of the country’s Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) surveillance system, with stakeholders acknowledging progress while calling for stronger efforts to tackle the growing threat of drug resistant infections.
The review was conducted during a two day stakeholder dialogue held in Abuja from July 9 to 10 by the NCDC Antimicrobial Resistance Division under the NiCaDe Project in collaboration with the Robert Koch Institute.
The meeting evaluated Nigeria’s Hub-and-Spoke model for AMR surveillance, diagnostic stewardship and antimicrobial use, while identifying priorities for strengthening the country’s response to antimicrobial resistance.
According to the NCDC, the review found that “the system is growing” and “the data is improving,” reflecting gains made over the past decade.
However, stakeholders warned that “drug-resistant infections are still a major problem,” stressing that “not all of Nigeria is equally represented yet and we need to fix that.”
They said expanding surveillance coverage, strengthening laboratory networks and improving data quality across all states would be critical to generating the evidence needed for effective interventions.
Teaching hospitals, including Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, and the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC), shared lessons from implementing the Hub-and-Spoke model.
According to participants, “mentorship + multidisciplinary stewardship teams can extend AMR capacity beyond tertiary centres,” helping to improve surveillance, laboratory diagnosis and antimicrobial stewardship across lower levels of healthcare.
The stakeholders also stressed the need for stronger collaboration among health institutions to ensure timely detection and response to antimicrobial resistance.
The dialogue concluded with the adoption of a roadmap, stakeholder commitments and an action matrix to guide the next phase of Nigeria’s AMR response.
Reaffirming the importance of sustained investment in surveillance, participants noted that “fighting AMR starts with knowing exactly what we’re dealing with,” adding that stronger surveillance systems, responsible antimicrobial use and coordinated action remain essential to protecting public health and strengthening Nigeria’s health security.
“The system is growing. The data is improving. But drug-resistant infections are still a major problem, and not all of Nigeria is equally represented yet. We need to fix that,” the stakeholders said in a communiqué issued at the end of the dialogue.