Your Excellency Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the African Union Commission,
Your Excellency Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture,
Mister José Graziano de Silva, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
Mister Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo, Director General of the World Trade Organization,
Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Chief Executive Officer, New Partnership for Africa’s Development, Conference Chairperson
Excellencies, distinguished delegates, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
Like air and water, food is fundamental to life itself. We need it to survive and thrive.
But food is so much more. It’s a source of enjoyment. It’s an expression of culture and faith. It’s an art form. And it brings families, friends and communities together.
Food is an essential part of what it means to be human.
Which is why unsafe food is so unacceptable.
It turns what should be a source of nourishment and enjoyment into a source of disease and death.
Unsafe food is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths every year.
And yet food safety has not received the political attention it deserves.
How many people who have diarrhea will consult a doctor? Very few.
If they do, what are the chances the symptom will be linked to contaminated food? Very low.
If food poisoning is diagnosed, will the case be reported to health authorities? Rarely.
Because of massive under-reporting, the global burden of foodborne disease remained unknown until WHO published the first estimates in 2015.
Today, we know that foodborne diseases caused by chemicals, viruses, bacteria and parasites kill hundreds of thousands of people every year.
Those most affected are children under five in Africa and South Asia.
What can we do about this unacceptable situation?
Improving food safety in countries requires sustained investments in several areas, from stronger regulation, to better laboratories, more stringent surveillance and better training and education.
Historically, upgrades to food safety systems have been triggered by large-scale outbreaks of foodborne diseases.
Food safety systems in Europe and other parts of the world were modernized in the 1990s after the emergence of variant CJD, which is associated with eating contaminated beef.
Fortunately, food safety crises like that are rare.
But many outbreaks of foodborne disease are quickly forgotten by policy makers and the public.
Lessons are not learned, the same mistakes are repeated, and people continue to suffer.
Although its effects are felt by individuals, families and communities, food safety is not an issue that can be addressed only with local solutions.
Food markets and food supply chains are now massive global industries.
For example, food grown in country A may be exported to country B for processing. It is then incorporated into a final product in country C, along with other ingredients manufactured in countries D, E, and F. Then it is sold in country G.
If there is a safety problem, recalling food products can be extremely complex – and even more difficult when they are sold over the internet.
All of this means that food safety is everyone’s issue.
We are only as strong as the weakest link.
To connect national food safety systems, WHO and FAO created the International Network of Food Safety Authorities, INFOSAN, more than 10 years ago.
INFOSAN supports countries to manage food safety risks by sharing information, experiences and solutions.
But the level of commitment to this network remains uneven.
I invite you to visit the INFOSAN exhibition booth outside this room and consider how much more your country can contribute to and benefit from this network.
In our globalized world, we must work together.
Food safety is not an issue for one country. It is an issue for every country and every region.
That’s why WHO supports the development of an African food safety agency, to strengthen continent-wide standards and regulations.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
Food safety is not only important for fighting hunger and promoting health.
It’s critical for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Food safety is intimately linked to many other SDGS, including economic growth, innovation, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.
As part of the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition, many countries have made commitments on nutrition, but very few have made commitments on food safety.
But there is no food security without food safety.
One area countries must address is combating antimicrobial resistance in the food chain.
The inappropriate use of antibiotics in food-producing animals is contributing to the emergence of drug resistance in human pathogens.
Another issue is the impact of climate change on food safety. We need to understand the adverse interactions between these two issues and start acting now to fight them.
Both of these issues highlight that food safety is not an issue for one agency, or one ministry.
I am delighted that this meeting is bringing together representatives from the public and private sectors, agriculture, fisheries, environment, trade, and the food industry.
Without this kind of collaboration, we cannot reduce the burden of foodborne diseases.
We can only make progress with a “One Health” approach that addresses food safety holistically.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for your commitment to this issue.
Let me leave you with three requests.
First, learn from our mistakes. Use this meeting to share experiences, understand problems and identify solutions. Every outbreak of foodborne disease is an opportunity to ensure the same thing never happens again.
Second, build bridges. This meeting is an opportunity to create strong networks within and between countries, and within and between sectors.
Finally, innovate for investment. The world needs a mechanism for investing in food safety in a sustainable way, adapted to national and regional circumstances. This gathering is an opportunity to lay the foundations for that mechanism.
Learn. Build. Innovate.
I thank you.