How Nigeria Can Curb Deadly Foodborne Diseases, Save 200,000 Lives Annually — Expert

• Strengthening local systems, training food handlers, and investing in infrastructure are seen as key to tackling $3.6bn annual losses

 

Nigeria can significantly reduce the burden of foodborne diseases and save thousands of lives each year by strengthening local food systems, empowering grassroots actors, and improving coordination across all levels of governance, a food safety expert has said.

Bukade Adesina, a doctoral candidate and Ross-Lynn Research Fellow at Purdue University, who has spent over a decade studying food systems, said the country’s challenge goes beyond food availability to the safety of what Nigerians consume daily.

“Nigeria doesn’t lack food alone,” he said. “It lacks safe food. The solution is not only about enforcement, but it’s also about empowering people and building systems from the ground up.”

Across the country, foodborne diseases remain a silent but deadly crisis. Experts estimate that about 200,000 Nigerians die annually from unsafe food, while millions more suffer recurring illnesses that often go unreported.

The economic impact is equally severe, with losses exceeding $3.6 billion each year due to reduced productivity, rising healthcare costs, and trade limitations.

Local Markets Identified as Ground Zero

Adesina stressed that the solution lies within the everyday spaces where Nigerians source their meals, local markets, roadside vendors, and small-scale processing centres.

“We already know where most of the risks are,” he explained. “What we need now is coordination, training, and accountability.”

He identified Nigeria’s 774 local government areas as critical to tackling the crisis, noting that environmental health officers and inspectors serve as the frontline defense but are severely under-resourced.

“Local government officers are our protectors,” he said. “But many cover hundreds of vendors with no vehicles, no testing kits, and no laboratory access. It’s like asking a firefighter to stop a blaze with a cup of water.”

Call for Decentralised Food Safety System

To address this gap, Adesina called for the decentralisation of authority and funding, urging that resources be directed to local public health departments. He recommended that each local government area establish a food safety desk, deploy trained inspectors, and maintain at least one functional laboratory.

“If we strengthen local capacity, we can stop most outbreaks before they reach hospitals,” he added.

Providing a practical example, Adesina pointed to an ongoing Purdue University project in Nigeria, supported by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service and the Purdue Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability.

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As part of his doctoral research, conducted in collaboration with Dr. Jonathan Bauchet and Dr. Jacob Ricker-Gilbert, Adesina is exploring ways to improve cassava processing to produce cyanide-safe gari.

Cassava, consumed by over 100 million Nigerians, naturally contains cyanide compounds that can be harmful if not properly removed during processing.

“Many processors lack training or testing equipment,” he said. “As a result, gari in many markets exceeds the World Health Organisation’s safety limit.”

Training and Incentives Reduce Food Risks

Through targeted training programmes and incentives introduced in rural communities, the research has shown promising results.

“We found that when people are taught the right techniques and supported, cyanide levels in their cassava products drop dramatically,” he noted. “People want to do the right thing — they just need knowledge and opportunity.”

Adesina believes this model can be scaled across Nigeria’s vast informal food sector, where millions of small vendors and processors operate without formal training.

“These are the hands that feed Nigeria,” he said. “We need to train them, not blame them.”

He proposed community-based education programmes delivered in local languages, focusing on hygiene, safe cooking practices, fermentation processes, clean water usage, and preventing cross-contamination.

In addition, he advocated the introduction of a national “Seal of Safety” certification for compliant food vendors, which would boost consumer confidence and encourage adherence to safety standards.

“When customers see a vendor with that badge, it builds trust and sets a new standard,” he explained. “Safety should be an advantage, not a punishment.”

Food Safety as Economic Imperative

Beyond health concerns, Adesina emphasised that food safety is a critical economic issue, affecting workforce productivity, healthcare spending, and Nigeria’s ability to compete in international markets.

“Unsafe food weakens the workforce, inflates healthcare spending, and shuts Nigeria out of export markets,” he said. “Every country that has built a strong economy began by securing its food.”

He also called for increased investment in essential infrastructure such as clean water, waste management systems, electricity for cold storage, and improved market facilities, describing them as key drivers of economic growth.

Adesina’s vision is of a Nigeria where every citizen can trust the safety of their food, regardless of income level, a goal he believes is achievable through collective effort.

“Food safety is not a luxury,” he said. “It’s a national obligation. If we can’t guarantee safe food, we can’t guarantee a healthy future.”