By Alfred Banda
A leading public health expert has warned that widespread misuse of antibiotics in Malawi is fuelling the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), urging the public to avoid taking medicines without proper medical guidance.
Dr Adamson Muula, Professor and Head of Public Health and Epidemiology at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, said many Malawians continue to access antibiotics from unqualified sources, a practice he described as both dangerous and avoidable.
“Antibiotics are for specific illnesses. If a person is not a qualified health professional trained to prescribe them, obtaining antibiotics based on their advice is already a mistake,” Dr Muula said.
He added that the public should not assume that every health worker is authorised to prescribe antibiotics.
“Health professionals come in different forms. Not all are capable or authorised to prescribe antibiotics. Even specialist doctors may be unable to prescribe the right antibiotics if the necessary laboratory tests are unavailable,” he explained.
Dr Muula further cautioned against relying on outdated or foreign guidelines when prescribing antibiotics.
“There is a childishness in this country where even qualified health professionals rely on books written for different contexts. Antibiotics are context- and time-specific. What worked last year may not work five years from now,” he said.
He emphasised that only trained and authorised prescribers should issue antibiotics, urging the public to avoid seeking medication from neighbours, friends, or informal vendors.
A Lilongwe resident from Area 23, Khumbo Phine, agreed that misuse of medicines is widespread.
“Sometimes we take pills from friends or neighbours without knowing what they are for. We just hope they will help us feel better, but now we are learning it is dangerous,” she said.
The Ministry of Health and Sanitation raised similar concerns in a press release on November 18, signed by Principal Secretary of Administration, Bestone Chisamile. The statement warned that rising AMR is making infections harder to treat and is responsible for millions of deaths globally each year, threatening human health, food safety, and the environment.
According to the Ministry, antibiotics should only be prescribed by qualified health professionals, and patients must complete the full course to prevent resistance. Malawians were urged to stop self-medicating and to seek proper medical care when unwell.
AMR, driven largely by misuse and overuse of antibiotics, continues to pose a major public health threat in Malawi.
