Brazzaville, 28 August 2007 -- “ Food is central to the prosperity, health and social well-being of individuals and societies. Yet, foodborne and waterborne disease continue to cause preventable deaths and untold suffering in the African Region.

Indeed, the annual mortality rate due to diarrhea in Africans of all ages is estimated at 700,000. On the average, African children experience five episodes of foodborne and waterborne diarrhea every year.

To check this situation, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa has developed a strategy whose central aim is to contribute to the reduction of morbidity and mortality due to contaminated food.

The main objective of the strategy is to provide a platform for advocacy for food safety.

Priority interventions proposed in the strategy are:

• development of food safety policies, programmes, legislation and regulations to assure the safety of food from production to consumption;
• development and improvement of capacity to provide analytical skills for monitoring foods on the market.
• establishment of transparent health promotion systems and procedures to ensure that producers , processors , retailers , consumers and other stakeholders are properly informed on safe food handling as well as food emergencies
• development of systems to ensure national , regional and international cooperation , collaboration and coordination to ensure that stakeholders work in a concerted manner.

The strategy delineates detailed and specific roles for countries, WHO and other development partners, and suggests that countries increase allocation of resources for food safety to facilitate the process of implementing the strategy.

For more information contact:

Technical contact

Dr Patience Mensah

Tel: + 47 241 39775

Email: mensahp [at] afro.who.int

Media Contact 

Samuel T. Ajibola

Tel: + 47 241 39378

Email : ajibolas [at] afro.who.int