Health
420,000 die annually of contaminated food, 600 million fall ill – Minister
Health Minister, Dr Osagie Ehanire, has said that every year, nearly one in every ten people in the world, an estimated 600 million people fall ill and 420,000 others die after eating food contaminated by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances such as heavy metals.
Ehanire disclosed this during an event to mark 2022 World Food Safety Day, adding, over 200 diseases are caused by eating contaminated food.
According to him, food, if not safe, is not food. Food is a health product and the first component of basic health care delivery. The slogan for World Food Safety Day is “Food Safety is Every One’s Business and is a reminder that we all play a role in keeping food safe. This calls for prioritization of food safety throughout the d supply chain, from farm to table.”
He also said, “Children under the age of five are at higher risk of malnutrition and mortality due to unsafe food and they carry 40% of food borne disease burden. Unsafe food causes one in six deaths from diarrhea, a major killer in this age group. World Food Safety Day is a unique opportunity to raise awareness about the dangers of unsafe food with governments, producers, handlers and consumers having a role to play in making food safe.”
The Minister noted that unsafe food hinted that World Food Safety Day is a unique opportunity to raise awareness about the dangers of unsafe food with governments, producers, handlers and consumers having a role to play in making food safe.
READ ALSO:
- France-based Nigerian travels to Lagos, leads cyberattacks on 10 banks
- Two more ladies accuse Lagos bishop of rape, narrate ordeal
- I’ll Relocate To Ghana If Tinubu Or Atiku Win 2023 Election – Charly Boy
“Unsafe food hinders development especially on low- and middle-income economies, which lose around US$ 95 billion in productivity associated with illness, disability, and premature death suffered by workers (farmers, processors, handlers and marketers and consumers).
“This is standing in accord with World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the National Food Safety Management Committee (NFSMC) and the global Food Safety Community with the aim to draw attention and inspire action that prevents, detect and manage food borne risks that guarantee safer food for better health.
“In line with this year’s theme “Safer food, better health” emphasizes that all are consumers and food safety counts first for better health. Safe food is essential to human health and well-being. Only when food is safe can we fully benefit from its nutritional value and from the mental and social benefits of sharing a safe meal.
“Safe food is one of the most critical guarantors for good health. Unsafe foods are the cause of many diseases and contribute to other poor health conditions, such as impaired growth and development.
“The good news is that most food borne diseases are preventable. Our behaviour, the way we build food systems and how we organize food supply chains can prevent infectious and toxic hazards, microbial pathogens (bacteria, viruses and parasites), chemical residues, biotoxins and other noxious or dangerous substances from getting into our plates. We need to transform food systems to deliver better health, and we need to do so in a sustainable manner.
“Food systems policy-makers, practitioners and investors should reorient their activities to increase the sustainable production and consumption of safe foods in order to improve health outcomes, to make safe and healthy diets”, he stated.
PILOT
Health
Those spraying perfume in armpit, private parts risk cancer – Shehu Sani
Those spraying perfume in armpit, private parts risk cancer – Shehu Sani
Former senator and human rights activist, Shehu Sani, has issued a cautionary note to the public against spraying perfume directly on sensitive areas of the body such as the armpits and private parts.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, the former lawmaker from Kaduna Central recounted the tragic story of a young man named Salisu, who reportedly developed cancer after regularly applying perfume to those areas.
READ ALSO:
- Bus accident in Lagos claims one life, injures two; driver, conductor fee scene
- Plateau: Father, two sons killed in fresh attack
- Kidnapping scare: Woman faints, others sustain injuries in Kogi
“Don’t spray perfume in your armpit or private parts. If you are in the habit of doing that, learn from this,” Sani wrote. “A young man called Salisu used to do so, and suddenly it triggered a strange form of cancer in those areas. The spots got rotten and his health deteriorated. He is now dead.”
While noting that he had no scientific explanation for the incident, Sani said he was simply sharing the story as a word of caution.
“Just a piece of advice,” he added.
Those spraying perfume in armpit, private parts risk cancer – Shehu Sani
Health
Nigeria confirms 660 lassa fever cases, 122 die
Nigeria confirms 660 lassa fever cases, 122 die
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has identified Ondo, Bauchi and Edo states as the epicentres of the Lassa fever outbreak in the country.
Director-General of the NCDC, Dr Jide Idris, during a media briefing, yesterday, in Abuja, said that those states accounted for over 70 per cent of confirmed lassa fever cases reported so far in 2025.
Idris said that the three states contributed 71 per cent of the 660 confirmed Lassa fever cases recorded between January and the end of March 2025, with Ondo accounting for 30 per cent, Bauchi, 25 per cent, and Edo, 16 per cent.
The director general said that the NCDC had intensified a nationwide multi-sectoral response through its activated incident management system at the national level to coordinate the public health emergency across affected states.
READ ALSO:
- 17 kidnapped victims rescued from Niger, 21 rifles seized in Kaduna
- Sanwo-Olu gifts LASU best graduating student N10m
- NRC suspends Warri-Itakpe train after multiple engine failure
He said, “As the cases surge in these epicentre states, our response is focused on early detection, case management, risk communication, and community engagement. The transmission remains active in multiple local councils, with 28 states and 125 councils affected this year.”
Idris also said that 122 deaths had so far been recorded, resulting in a case fatality rate of 18.5 per cent—higher than the 17.5 per cent recorded during the same period in 2024.
He said that to combat the spread, the NCDC had deployed national rapid response teams to hotspot areas, trained healthcare workers on infection prevention and control, and scaled up community sensitisation.
The DG, therefore, stressed the importance of early presentation to health facilities to reduce fatalities.
Idris, who disclosed ongoing collaborations with key partners, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), to support surveillance, clinical care, and public awareness, said that the agency was also supporting research efforts to improve outbreak preparedness and response.
Nigeria confirms 660 lassa fever cases, 122 die
Health
Poisonous fluorides in toothpaste: Pharmacists counter televangelist’s claims
Poisonous fluorides in toothpaste: Pharmacists counter televangelist’s claims
Pharmacists have refuted recent claims made by a popular pastor that fluorides in food, toothpaste, and pharmaceutical products are poisonous and carcinogenic.
While acknowledging the pastor’s spiritual influence, the pharmacists provided crucial scientific clarity, asserting that fluoride, when used in approved quantities by regulatory bodies, is safe and beneficial for public health.
The pharmacists, on the platform of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, ACPN, made the clarifications, weekend.
Their intervention comes in response to trending videos where the religious leader vehemently condemned the pharmaceutical industry over the inclusion of fluorides in various consumer products.
Scientific facts
In a statement by the National Chairman, Ambrose Ezeh, and Secretary, Omokhafe Ashore, the pharmacists said: “We at ACPN will not attempt to tackle the pastor’s anointing in God’s word.
“But (we) will clarify with some scientific insight and background that the pastor’s exposition on fluorides was not totally in alignment with scientific facts.
“The ‘Use of Fluorides in Pharmaceutical Preparations and Foods’ declared: ‘Fluorides used in approved quantities by the relevant and appropriate food and drug regulatory agencies are safe’.
READ ALSO:
- Police raid criminal camps, recover food items in Anambra
- Oba Owoade crowned Alaafin of Oyo
- A colleague raped me, Actress Lolo 1 alleges
“In strictly public health interest, the ACPN wishes to posit as follows: Fluoride used in approved quantities by the relevant and appropriate Food and Drug regulatory agencies are safe.
“While some researchers have indeed linked Fluoride with some cancers, oftentimes such incidences have been proven to be in instances where excessive amounts beyond the approved limits were used.”
-
metro2 days agoKidnapping: Our lives are hanging by a thread, residents of Igbogbo-Baiyeku communities in Lagos cry out
-
International2 days agoUS embassy announces new visa interview requirements for Nigerian applicants
-
Sports2 days agoBreaking: Former Super Eagles coach Christian Chukwu passes away at 74
-
Politics3 days agoAtiku leads Tambuwal, El-Rufai, others to Buhari as 2027 election draws near
-
metro3 days agoIbadan Pastor ends 30-year-marriage over sex dispute with wife
-
Education8 hours agoNELFUND: How schools, banks are ripping off students
-
metro2 days agoFG debunks US Embassy post on Nigeria’s security situation
-
Auto2 days agoMassilia Motors launches new Mitsubishi L200 with low fuel consumption, advanced engineering