The Federal Government has said that millions of Nigerians are falling sick due to unsafe food consumption, adding that many of them are dying as a result.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, made this known on Monday in Abuja at a ministerial press briefing to mark the 2026 World Food Safety Day, themed: “From Burden to Solutions – Safe Food Everywhere.”
The minister declared that there’s a growing burden of foodborne diseases in Nigeria, as a result of which about 50 million Nigerians fell sick annually.
Salako said that out of the figure of those unwell, 53,000 deaths were yearly, remarking that the situation was impacting negatively human capital available to the country.
“Nigeria records nearly 50 million foodborne illnesses every year, and unsafe food causes more than 53,000 deaths annually in our country.
“Together, these illnesses and deaths result in a staggering 4.26 million years of healthy life lost to illness, disability or early death,” the minister said.
Mostly affected he affirmed, were children saying, “Most of this burden falls heavily on children under five, who account for more than 80 per cent of all foodborne disease burden in Nigeria.
“The true cost of unsafe food in Nigeria is not only measured in sickness and death, but also in the lost cognitive, physical and developmental potential of our children.”
