10 Million People to Die Yearly from 2050 from Antibiotic Resistance — WAP Report
Antibiotic resistance deaths to surge from 2025-2050, study says
World Animal Protection (WAP), an international organisation, has raised alarm that by 2050, more than 10 million people worldwide could die annually from infections resistant to antibiotics.
Patrick Mvinde, the Research and Planning Manager at WAP, revealed this during a workshop for journalists in Abuja on Thursday. The event, themed “Implication of Industrial Animal Farming in Nigeria,” was convened by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), a Civil Society Organisation (CSO).
Mr. Mvinde told PulseNets that the current global situation is already dire, with 1.27 million deaths recorded each year from infections that antibiotics can no longer treat. He linked this growing crisis to industrial farming systems—where large numbers of animals are reared in overcrowded, confined, and highly controlled environments.
“Lack of space leads to stress, deformities, movement problems; due to genetic selection, market weight is attained in as few as 40 days (Broiler).
The increased weight gain strains key organs such as the heart and lungs, which cause severe joint pains and movement problems,” he explained.
According to him, of the 80 billion animals raised globally, 75 percent—mostly chickens, pigs, and cattle—are trapped in these intensive farming conditions.
The Antibiotic Resistance Danger
Mvinde learnt that three-quarters of all antibiotics used globally are consumed in farming, particularly in factory or industrial farming. He reported that the residues from these antibiotics often end up in both the food chain and the environment, thereby fuelling antibiotic resistance in humans.
He further warned that diseases such as Avian Influenza, Swine Flu, and other zoonotic outbreaks are tied to these industrial systems.
“COVID was a trend of emerging zoonosis,” he noted, adding that zoonotic diseases—those transmitted from animals to humans—remain one of the gravest risks of factory farming.
The veterinary expert told PulseNets that instead of expanding industrial farming in Nigeria and across Africa, policymakers should prioritise supporting smallholder farmers. Such an approach, he stressed, would promote food sovereignty while safeguarding both environmental and human health.
Socio-Environmental Impacts in Nigeria
Also speaking at the workshop, Mayowa Shobo, Programme Manager at HEDA Resource Centre, cautioned against multinational industrial farmers setting up operations in Africa.
Mr. Shobo spoke to PulseNets about a study conducted in five Nigerian states, which revealed that industrial farming not only undermines human and environmental health but also disrupts the socio-cultural fabric of host communities.
He highlighted how the clearing of vast tracts of land for industrial farms damages ecosystems and frustrates ongoing climate change mitigation efforts.
“Government should also invest in health centres, flood control and early warning systems, while supporting local food production through seeds, inputs and protection of smallholder plots,” he said.
While industrial farms may appear to generate jobs, Shobo reported that opportunities are highly selective with very low wages. Decisions around land use, he added, are frequently taken without proper consultation, excluding women and disadvantaged groups.
“Complaints are rarely resolved, leaving communities powerless in their own homelands,” he told PulseNets.
Also Read: WHO Declares New China Virus a Global Health Emergency
Experts at the forum learnt that the continued expansion of industrial farming in Nigeria could worsen antibiotic resistance, escalate zoonotic diseases, and contribute to the climate crisis. They called for sustainable food systems, climate-resilient policies, and protection for smallholder farmers as the nation charts its agricultural future.
