Food and animal-borne diseases are growing increasingly common in Ethiopia and treatment has become more difficult owing to anti-microbial resistance (AMR), according to the Ministry of Health.
AMR and zoonotic and foodborne diseases cause more than 100,000 deaths a year in Ethiopia, with AMR directly responsible for 21,200, highlighting an increasingly worrying problem for an overworked public health system.
Officials at the Ministry have introduced the ‘National One Health Five-Year Strategic Plan’ in a bid to contain AMR and prevent the spread of communicable diseases by 2030.
It comes as part of the One Health initiative under agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), and UN Environment Program (UNEP)
The document reveals that 85,300 people die each year from AMR-related causes, another 2,700 from rabies, and at least 500 more from foodborne illnesses tied to unsafe vegetable and dairy products.
Rabies deaths primarily occur due to dog bites, according to the report, while anthrax, brucellosis, HPAI, and RVF pose a threat. Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), particularly malaria, also remain a serious problem.
Food-borne illnesses are common and dairy products alone are tied to 500,000 cases of illnesses and 200 deaths annually, according to the report. Unsanitary vegetable consumption contributes to an estimated 300,000 cases and 320 deaths a year.
Ethiopia’s current foodborne disease burden is significantly impacting public health and the economy. These diseases lead to numerous cases and deaths annually, with a high Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) count, reflecting years of healthy life lost.
The annual economic burden of the three major food-borne diseases in Ethiopia, namely Campylobacteriosis, E. coli infections, and non-typhoidal Salmonellosis, is estimated at USD 723 million.
Experts at the Ministry expect the toll to grow worse in light of climate change and subsequent hazards such as floods, droughts, and soil erosion.
Anti-microbial resistance constitutes a large part of the Ministry’s response plan, which reflects the wider threat AMR poses to health globally. Worldwide, AMR causes an estimated 1.27 million deaths each year.
Experts warn that AMR is increasing at an alarming rate in Ethiopia, where, in 2019, there were 21,200 deaths attributable to AMR and 85,300 deaths associated with AMR.
The country has the 35th highest age-standardized mortality rate per 100,000 population associated with AMR across 204 countries, according to the Ministry. Multi-drug resistant bacteria, including strains of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are growing increasingly common.
Contributing factors included inappropriate antibiotic use, inadequate infection control, and a lack of surveillance, according to experts.
Reports indicate that failure to tackle antimicrobial resistance could cause an estimated 10 million deaths a year and cost up to USD one trillion by 2050 with the highest impact expected in Asia and Africa, which likely will account for an estimated 4.7 million and 4.2 million deaths, respectively.
The Ministry estimates the One Health strategy will cost at least USD 44 million to implement.
