UNILAG VC Highlights Slums as Amplifiers of Antimicrobial Resistance Threat
Professor Ogunsola expressed concern that factors accelerating microbial resistance, including antimicrobial resistance disease-causing germs, are prevalent and increasing in slums. She highlighted the necessity for upgrading slums and addressing their health issues to effectively combat antimicrobial resistance.
AKACHI NOEL 
Professor Folasade Ogunsola, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), has underscored the critical role slums play in exacerbating antimicrobial resistance, describing it as a silent, deadly, and relentless pandemic. Addressing this issue during the 2023 Horatio Oritsejolomi Thomas Distinguished Lecture at the University of Ibadan, she emphasized the need for special attention to be given to slums in Nigeria's efforts to combat this growing health threat.
Professor Ogunsola expressed concern that factors accelerating microbial resistance, including antimicrobial resistance disease-causing germs, are prevalent and increasing in slums. She highlighted the necessity for upgrading slums and addressing their health issues to effectively combat antimicrobial resistance.
In her lecture, the UNILAG Vice Chancellor revealed that the full impact of antimicrobial resistance is yet to be fully quantified. Citing World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics, she noted that 10 million people, including 4.1 million in sub-Saharan Africa, are expected to die from antimicrobial resistance organisms by 2050 if not addressed.
Furthermore, Professor Ogunsola emphasized the economic repercussions, stating that countries across Africa could lose up to five percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) by 2050 if the antimicrobial resistance pandemic is not curtailed.
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The Vice Chancellor highlighted the vital role antibiotics play in modern medicine, stressing the catastrophic consequences if they lose their effectiveness. Antimicrobial resistance occurs when germs no longer respond to antimicrobials at the normal doses required, posing a significant threat to public health.
Professor Ogunsola proposed a comprehensive approach to solving antimicrobial resistance, including addressing the social determinants of health in slum environments. She called for a shift from destroying slums to upgrading them, emphasizing that antimicrobial resistance will persist if the underlying issues in slums are not addressed.
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In conclusion, the UNILAG Vice Chancellor urged a return to basics, ensuring the consideration of social determinants of health to tackle the high infection rates in slums and effectively mitigate the antimicrobial resistance pandemic.
