Ghana: Over 5,000 Annual Deaths in Ghana Linked to Antimicrobial Resistance - Health Experts

Scientists study bacteria samples from across Latin America to track and control the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

By ABIGAIL ANNOH

More than 5,000 people die in Ghana each year due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with an additional 23,000 deaths linked to drug-resistant infections, health experts have warned. Children under five are particularly vulnerable to severe illness and fatalities.

In an interview with The Ghanaian Times in Accra, Mr Glover Asiedu Appiah, Regulatory Pharmacist at the Food and Drugs Authority's Centre for Import and Export Control; Dr Benjamin Kissi Sasu, Senior Veterinary Officer at the National Food Safety Laboratory, Veterinary Services-Ghana; and Ms Regina Ama Banu, Senior Research Scientist at CSIR-Water Research Institute, stressed the urgent need for coordinated action under Ghana's One Health approach, which links human, animal, and environmental health.

AMR occurs when germs such as bacteria, viruses, or parasites no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat, potentially leading to longer illness, complications, or death. Recent surveillance shows that several first-line antibiotics are failing, with resistance also emerging to some second-line treatments.

Mr Appiah cited self-medication, incomplete courses, over-the-counter sales, over-prescription, and poor sanitation as key drivers of AMR. "Stopping medication once symptoms improve strengthens surviving bacteria, creating resistance," he noted, urging strict adherence to prescriptions.

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Dr Sasu called for more veterinary testing facilities, noting that Ghana has only three functional animal labs.

Ms Banu highlighted the role of poor sanitation and environmental contamination in spreading resistant microbes and called for stronger surveillance, wastewater treatment, and nationwide behavioural change to curb AMR.

Speaking ahead of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, the experts emphasised that urgent, collective action is essential to safeguard health and secure the future.

Read the original article on Ghanaian Times.

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