Framing the Silent Pandemic: A Descriptive Study on Media Advocacy and One Health AMR Policy in West Africa

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant public health and economic threat across West Africa, driven by weak pharmaceutical regulation, inappropriate antimicrobial use, and intensive agricultural practices. Although regional frameworks advocate a cross-sectoral One Health approach, implementation of National Action Plans (NAPs) remains limited. This study examined how media volume, thematic framing, and source distribution influence the implementation of One Health AMR policies within the ECOWAS sub-region. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining bilingual content and framing analysis of a purposive sample of 356 media artefacts published or broadcast between June 2024 and May 2026 across selected Anglophone (Nigeria and Ghana) and Francophone (Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire) print and broadcast media organisations. The findings revealed a substantial regional salience deficit, with a mean prominence score of 1.38. Approximately 87.9% of AMR reports appeared on inside pages or during off-peak broadcast periods, indicating limited editorial priority. Furthermore, 64.0% of the coverage framed AMR primarily as a human health issue, while livestock-related factors (17.7%) and environmental contamination (6.2%) received comparatively little attention. Only 12.1% of the reports adopted an integrated One Health perspective. The study concludes that media reporting on AMR in West Africa remains largely reactive and insufficiently reflects the multisectoral nature of antimicrobial resistance. It recommends strengthening specialised health journalism, improving science communication, promoting cross-sectoral collaboration, and providing dedicated communication funding within future National Action Plans to support effective One Health policy implementation.