Funding gaps have choked Malawi’s fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) with the Ministry of Health stating that the government only allocates 10 percent of the resources needed to contain the growing public health threat.
Speaking in an interview yesterday, Ministry of Health AMR Department head Collins Mitambo acknowledged that Malawi is one of the few countries with dedicated AMR funding, but that the current annual allocation of about $40 000 (nearly K70 million) is not enough.
“In Malawi there are only nine facilities which are able to conduct AMR surveillance. So, we need more resources to procure equipment, train people, manage data and ensure that we have re-agents for processing samples. Ideally, we may need about $400 000 [around K700 million] annually for AMR activities,” he said.
Mitambo said Malawi has been receiving support from various partners that have helped to renovate laboratories, procure supplies and equipment and conduct campaigns.
He said the ministry has been implementing interventions under the first national AMR action plan of 2017 to 2022 and that a new five-year plan ending in 2030 has been developed and is expected to be launched in November.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance report 2025 shows that the country, like others in Africa, continues to face high levels of bacterial resistance to commonly used antibiotics.
In an interview yesterday, public health expert Professor Adamson Muula of Kamuzu University of Health Sciences said the country needs to ensure that antimicrobial drugs should only be available on prescription after a qualified staff has diagnosed a relevant illness.
“In Africa, all sorts of people can prescribe or dispense antimicrobial drugs. We sometimes applaud this in a cloak of healthcare access. Antimicrobials must be restricted,” he said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a statement on Monday, urged countries to strengthen their AMR surveillance systems, use antibiotics responsibly, and make sure everyone has access to the right medicines, quality-assured diagnostics and vaccines.
Globally, AMR caused 1.14 million deaths in 2021, according to the WHO.
