Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The federal government has put the cost-of-illness of diarrhoea, attributable to food contamination, at about US$6 billion annually in productivity.
It said that the cost was calculated at about US$10 per case of diarrhoea.
Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire who stated this during the launching of the training manual on National Policy on Food Safety & Its Implementation Strategy (NPFSIS), in Abuja on Tuesday said 31 hazard-causing foodborne diseases were responsible for over 600 million illnesses and 420,000 deaths worldwide.
He said: “In 2014, the World Bank’s “Safe Food Imperative” found that the cost-of-illness of diarrhoea, attributable to food contamination, is about US$10 per case, with Nigeria estimated to lose about US$6 billion annually in productivity which underscores why the health sector prioritises safety of foods sold, marketed, and consumed in Nigeria”.