200,000 Nigerians die every year for diseases related to food-fg increases the alarm

The Federal Government raised a red flag for the alarming rate of diseases related to food in Nigeria, revealing that no less than 200,000 nigerians-muscles of which children-museum every year due to the consumption of contaminated or unhewe.

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, UCC Geoffrey Nnaji, made the disclosure Thursday in Abuja during the launch of the operating manual for food safety tailor -made for food sellers, market operators and food inspectors across the country.

Citing the World Health Organization (WHO), NNAJI said that over 600 million people get sick globally every year from unsafe food, with Africa that brings the highest per capita burden.

Nigeria alone loses approximately 3.6 billion dollars per year compared to food origin through the loss of productivity, medical expenses and commercial restrictions.

“The roads, the open markets, the kiosks along the way and informal restaurants in which millions of Nigerians get their daily meals are becoming hotspots for food poisoning and contamination,” the minister warned.

“From the criminal use of the paracetamol to the tender meat, to the fermentation of the cassava with detergents and to the tincture of palm oil with Sudan IV, we are fighting a silent war against public health.”

By describing these practices as criminals pursuant to sections 243 and 244 of the Criminal Code Act, Nnaji asked for the urgent application of food safety laws to curb what he called “a national health emergency”.

The minister revealed that in the first quarter of 2025, Nigeria recorded 378 cholera deaths and over 3,500 infections of lassa-mullet fever linked to bad hygiene and food contaminated with rodents.

“This must stop. And this manual is a first critical step,” he said.

Speaking also to the event, the coordinated minister of health and social well-being, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, represented by Adeola Olufowobi-Yusuf, said that recent global alliance studies for better nutrition (earnings) have shown that food origin diseases represent about 20% of hospital admissions in the urban centers of Nigeria.

He underlined the need for collaboration between federal and state governments to implement localized guidelines for security that respond to the different food environments of Nigeria.

The CEO of the Nigerian Council for the science and technology of food (Nicfost), Nkechi Veronica Ezeh, described the manual just launched as “the first in its kind in Nigeria” and a long -term tool to regulate food management practices in markets, shops, restaurants and bakeries at national level.

“This manual is founded in chapter 8 of the fourth program of the Nigerian Constitution which outlines the role of the advice of the local government in guaranteeing public health,” he observed.

With the Nigeria food security crisis that now threatens public health and the economy, the interested parties affirm that this initiative could mark a turning point, if supported by application and public education.

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