Realizing the link between food safety and nutrition security: the case of aflatoxin control across food systems in Africa

Transcription

1 Realizing the link between food safety and nutrition security: the case of aflatoxin control across food systems in Africa Amare Ayalew PACA Secretariat 2016 Integrated Nutrition Conference Nairobi, Kenya, November 2016

2 FAO food security definition expressly links nutrition and food safety as integral components: Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

3 Unfulfilled linkages between food security, nutrition and food safety Disproportionate focus on supply, with emphasis on food production & stock availability Over the last decade, the necessity to embed nutrition into agriculture commands global attention Unsafe, contaminated foods still thwart food security and nutrition

4 Food safety impacts on nutrition: Contaminated food could cause disease, immune suppression and stunting When contaminated crop is withdrawn from the supply chain the quantum of food is directly impacted Food contamination affects rural incomes and access to food

5 Aflatoxins illustrate multi-faceted impact of food safety across food systems (among most pervasive food safety challenges in Africa) Public health 30% of liver cancer cases in Africa 40% Trade and economy Food and nutrition security of commodities in local African markets exceed allowable levels in foods Africa loses up to US$670 million annually from lost export

6 Aflatoxin Prevalence in Foods (PACA AfricaAIMS, 2015/16) Summary of Aflatoxin Prevalence in Key Crops from AfricaAIMS 2015 Surveillance Study

7 Occurrence of Aflatoxin M1 in Milk Location Samples Positive >50 ppt >500 ppt Max level Reference detected Dar es 37 92% 24% 855 ppt (Urio et al. 2006) Salaam, TZ Nairobi, Kenya % 63% 2,560 ppt (Kiarie et al. 2016) Rural Kenya (4 AEZ) % 10% 0.6% 6,999 ppt (Senerwa et al. 2016) Libya 49 71% 3,130 ppt (Elgerbi et al. 2004) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia % 92% 26% 4,980 ppt (Gizachew et al. 2016) Cameroon 63 16% 9.5% 527 ppt (Tchana et al. 2010)

8 Occurrence of Aflatoxin in Human Body Fluids Country Subject Sample Aflatoxin levels: Kenya case study: Benin/Togo Benin Cameroon Egypt Nigeria Children (n=480) Children (n=200) Infants (n=220) Adults (n=175) Lact. mothers (n=46) Preg. women (n=98) Adults, adolescents & children (n=120) Urine Urine Incidence (Mean) 1981, 2001, 99% ( , pg/mg) 2005, 2006, % ( ) 41.5% case fatality n/a (0.33ng/mL) 9.1% (0.05µg/L) 37% (50ppm) 35% (4.9 pg/mg) 48% (19.7 pg/mg) Reference Gong et al Gong et al Ediage et al Abia et al Shouman et al Piekkola et al Piekkola et al Urine 14.2% (0.3µg/L) Ezekiel et al Senegal Adults (n=168) n/a (45.7 pg/mg) Watson et al The Gambia Children (n=472) Preg. women Preg. women Children (n=138) Cord blood 93% (22.3 pg/mg) 100% (40.4 pg/mg) 48.5% (10.1 pg/mg) 11% (8.7 pg/mg) Turner et al Turner et al Turner et al Turner et al Tanzania Children (n=166) Children (n=166) 84% (12.9 pg/mg) 99% (23.5 pg/mg) Shirima et al Uganda Adults (n=100) Children (n=96) 100% (11.5 pg/mg) 95.8% (9.7 pg/mg) Asiki et al. 2014

9 Evidence on association of aflatoxin exposure and child growth Geography Findings (correlation) Reference Ghana, The Gambia Tanzania Benin, Togo Togo, Iran, Kenya, UAE Exposure during pregnancy and smaller babies during the first weeks of life Exposure and reduced weight and height among breast fed infants under 6 months Between higher levels of aflatoxins and lower growth rates Exposure and stunting in children Barett (2005), Review Magoha et al. (2014) Gong et al. (2002) Barett (2005), Review

10 Factors influencing pre- and postharvest aflatoxin risks in Africa Conducive climatic conditions Weak institutional capacity Traditional agronomic practices Aflatoxin challenge in Africa Complexity difficulty of targeting interventions Heavy reliance on dietary staples Low awareness levels Groundnut shelling, Senegal 2015, improvements needed Photo: PACA

11 PACA s vision and mission Vision: an Africa free from the harmful effects of aflatoxins Mission: to support agricultural development, safeguard consumer health & facilitate markets & trade by catalyzing, coordinating & increasing effective aflatoxin control along agricultural value chains in Africa Endorsed by the AU Joint Conference of Ministers of Agriculture and Ministers of Trade in 2012

12 PACA Secretariat s Strategic Direction: directly support governments to have wide sphere of influence for systemic change in aflatoxin control, while forging strong partnerships with private sector and other players

13 PACA Secretariat s systemic change approach - How? 1. Strong knowledge base through: Searchable database with credible data and information; Sharing knowledge through meetings/conferences. 2. Implementation sustainability through inclusion of aflatoxin mitigation in: national development strategies; e.g. CAADP national quality and standards programs; national agricultural extension, community health and education curricula; Market incentives ( carrot ) and regulatory enforcement ( stick )

14 PACA Secretariat s systemic change approach How? 3. Scaling and replicability through: Awareness and behavior change interventions; Massive training and program shadowing; Technologies and practices appropriate for multiple agro-ecological zones of countries; Enabling policies for technology adoption 4. Financial sustainability through: Government support and allocation of resources to activities; Private sector and development partners investment in aflatoxin prevention and control; Monitoring and evaluation of program implementation

15 PACA Secretariat focus on six pilot countries with a plan to scale Gambia, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda Maps are illustrative

16 Period National Action Plans for Aflatoxin Control: some components The Gambia Malawi Nigeria Senegal Tanzania Uganda To be developed To be validated Key components Create broad awareness Mainstream GAP Enhance awareness Enable VC actors to comply with regulations Strengthen capacity in GAP and PH handling Develop national implementatio n capacity Develop capacity for diagnostic Build capacity for risk assessment Risk assessment institutional framework Enhance capacity of VC actors Create conducive policy environment Enhance coordination, monitoring Provide a supportive regulatory policy framework Create broad awareness Popularize mitigation measures Strengthen national food control Improve regulatory and legal Improve regulatory system Enhance research Enhance awareness Increase awareness VC actors Improve compliance M&E

17 Private sector priorities for aflatoxin control: (from CTA-PACA Private Sector Roundtable) Creating demand for safe food Make the latest technology available to the private sector players Find matching funding for cost of mitigation technologies and aflatoxin testing Understand the level of the aflatoxin problem at country level Detoxification/alternative uses of contaminated produce Supply chain approach to make the system work

18 Main messages Food safety, nutrition, food security and public health are linked Embed food safety in agriculture and nutrition policies and strategies Global attention to food safety for impact at all levels Partnership, multi-sectoral and integrated approaches Create incentives for safe food to enhance private sector actions toward aflatoxin mitigation (food safety)

19 Thank You