Reps call for stronger food safety to curb diseases

The House of Representatives on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to strengthen food safety regulations and enforcement across the country in response to the growing burden of foodborne diseases.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Billy Osawaru, who represents a constituency in Edo State.

The motion highlighted the need to curb the rising incidence of foodborne illnesses and improve public awareness of food safety.

Presenting the motion, Osawaru cited data from the World Health Organisation showing that unsaffood causes about 866 million illnesses and 1.5 million deaths globally every year, with Africa accounting for the highest burden.

He acknowledged ongoing government efforts to improve food safety through the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 and 12, as well as the statutory responsibilities of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

The lawmaker also commended Nigeria’s progress in disease surveillance.

According to him, “Commendable is Nigeria’s 2025 State Party Annual Report score of Level 3, which is a testament that Nigeria surpassed the WHO benchmark and became one of the leading nations in Sub-Saharan Africa with functional systems for detecting, reporting, and responding to foodborne disease outbreaks.”

Despite the achievement, Osawaru said several factors continue to fuel food contamination across the country.

He noted that the House was “Aware that chemical hazards, poor hygiene among food handlers, open defecation, lack of good potable water, especially in rural areas, weak regulatory enforcement by NAFDAC and SON, and inadequate infrastructure in the market and abattoirs are the major factors leading to loss of tens of thousands of healthy lives owing to their exposure to affected foods and perhaps getting contaminated.”

The lawmaker expressed concern that Nigeria still records an alarming number of foodborne disease cases and fatalities each year.

According to him, “Nigeria still accounts for high number of approximately 50m foodborne diseases and more than 53,000 deaths caused by unsafe food yearly, leading to the aggregate number of 4.26m healthy life lost annually to ill health, disability and premature death due to foodborne disease, with over 80 per cent of these predominately children below the age of five.”

He further stated that poor food handling and production practices cost the country an estimated $3.6 billion annually through medical expenses, productivity losses and trade restrictions.

Osawaru also referred to reports by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention linking recurrent cholera outbreaks in different parts of the country to contaminated food and water, a situation he said reflected persistent sanitation and infrastructure deficiencies.

Following the adoption of the motion, the House urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, NAFDAC, SON and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention to strengthen surveillance, inspections and certification throughout the food production and distribution chain.

The lawmakers also directed the House Committee on Healthcare, Food Safety and Nutrition to work with the relevant agencies to ensure that “adequate funds required for procurement of food testing equipment are captured in subsequent supplementary budget; training, retraining and certification of food handlers are prioritised and legislative gaps are identified and proposed for legislative amendment to strengthen food safety regulations in Nigeria further.”

In addition, the House called on the Federal Ministries of Health and Water Resources to scale up investment in potable water supply and sanitation infrastructure to reduce food contamination linked to unsafe water.

It also urged the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation to sustain nationwide public enlightenment campaigns on food safety, personal hygiene and the health risks associated with consuming improperly handled roadside food.