Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

On World Health Day

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On World Health Day

7th April is celebrated as World Health Day internationally so as to highlight the challenges and opportunities that are associated health under the sponsorship of World Health Organization (WHO). The Day was first celebrated in 1950 and basically marks WHO’s founding. Different sorts of international, regional and local events are organized by WHO on the Day so as to highlight the importance of global health. 

This year the theme for the Day is food safety under the slogan “From farm to plate, make food safe.” There is no doubt in the fact that the role of food is immense in determining the public health. Clean and safe food can guarantee better health conditions but unsafe food can be really dangerous for health as they may contain harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses or chemical substances and can cause more than 200 diseases – from diarrhea to cancers.  According to WHO, new data on the damage triggered by foodborne illnesses underline the global threats posed by unsafe foods, and the necessity for coordinated, cross-border action across the entire food supply chain.

Some initial observations from WHO’s research (Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group – FERG) that is expected to be released in October this year highlight some very ugly truths;

Some important results are related to enteric infections caused by viruses, bacteria and protozoa that enter the body by ingestion of contaminated food. The initial FERG figures, from 2010, show that:

  • there were an estimated 582 million cases of 22 different foodborne enteric diseases and 351,000 associated deaths;
  • the enteric disease agents responsible for most deaths were Salmonella Typhi (52,000 deaths), enteropathogenic E. coli (37,000) and norovirus (35,000);
  • the African region recorded the highest disease burden for enteric foodborne disease, followed by South-East Asia;
  • over 40% people suffering from enteric diseases caused by contaminated food were children aged under 5 years.

Unsafe food also poses major economic risks, especially in a globalized world. Germany’s 2011 E.coli outbreak reportedly caused US$ 1.3 billion in losses for farmers and industries and US$ 236 million in emergency aid payments to 22 European Union Member States.

Afghanistan is also one of the countries where there are serious concerns regarding the food safety. Neither there are proper and strict measures by the government to ensure food safety nor the people have enough awareness regarding the issue.

No proper and safe packing of the food items are ensured, even by large businesses. Moreover, many items are sold even after the date of their expiration and as the customers do not have enough knowledge of checking the dates, buy the items and use them without any hesitation.

In addition, there are no proper control of different restaurants and hotels in the country and many of them do not fulfill the requirements of proper maintenance of cleanliness and food safety. Apart from the food items, the cooks and the hotel staffs do not take proper care of cleanliness and hygiene. And, there are many people across the country who go to restaurants and hotels for their daily meals. Thus, they are at great risk of being the victims of unsafe and non-hygienic food. 

Moreover, there are thousands of cart-owners who prepare different sorts of food items on the roadsides and they have many thousand customers. There is no measure taken to ensure hygiene and most of these food items are highly hazardous for health. The quality of the ingredients used, the dust and pollution from the road, the non-hygienic condition of the maker all add to the threats the food items will have for the health.

It should be noted that poverty and ignorance play a dominant role in aggravating the situation. It is very difficult to see the people, who do not have enough food to eat, taking care of hygiene and food safety. For most of the people hygiene and cleanliness are a luxury, which they cannot afford. On the other hand because of ignorance many people do not take care of even the matters which they can. They, therefore, ignore the necessary measures while they produce, use and eat different food items.  

Though poverty is an issue that can be dealt with in the long run, in the short run, measures can be pursued and should be pursued that can save many valuable lives. The government and the people as a whole must strive to ensure food safety before it is too late. Government must support institutions that are responsible for ensuring hygiene in the production of the food items, their packing and their preservation before the country faces any epidemic disease. As, WHO’s Director for Department of Food Safety and Zoonoses says, “It often takes a crisis for the collective consciousness on food safety to be stirred and any serious response to be taken. The impacts on public health and economies can be great. A sustainable response, therefore, is needed that ensures standards, checks and networks are in place to protect against food safety risks.” People, on the other hand, must fulfill their responsibilities, not only in their homes to guarantee better health for their family members but also be responsible member of the society, act ethically and make sure that whenever they are linked with food items that may influence the health of other members of society, they follow standards which they consider suitable for themselves and their family members.  

Dilawar Sherzai is the permanent writer of the Daily Outlook Afghanistan. He can be reached at email.urya@gmail.com

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