Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has joined food regulatory authorities across Africa in calling for stronger cooperation to improve food safety systems and support safer intra-African trade.NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, led a five-member Nigerian delegation to the Third African Food Regulatory Authorities Forum (AFRAF), held in Cairo, Egypt, from the 30th of September to the 2nd of October, 2026. The forum brought together regulators, the African Union Commission and development partners to discuss how to strengthen food safety across the continent.
Adeyeye said food safety challenges increasingly transcend national borders, driven by interconnected food systems, food fraud, climate-related risks, technological innovation and expanding intra-African trade. She argued that regulators must move beyond working alongside one another to working with one another, sharing information and coordinating responses to emerging threats.
The NAFDAC chief called for greater convergence through timely information sharing, mutual learning, stronger analytical capacity and harmonised regulatory requirements. She also urged investment in regulatory infrastructure, digital technologies and human resources to build the capacity needed to manage modern food safety risks.
Discussions at the forum focused on regional sanitary and phytosanitary coordination, risk-based regulation, food innovation, laboratory capacity, risk analysis and engagement with the Codex Alimentarius Commission. These areas are seen as critical to building a more resilient and responsive food safety system across Africa.
By aligning regulatory approaches and strengthening surveillance, African regulators hope to reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses and improve consumer protection. In Nigeria alone, unsafe food causes over 53,000 deaths and 50 million illnesses annually, with children under five most affected.
Stronger regulatory cooperation and reliance could facilitate safer intra-African trade, in line with NAFDAC’s vision of “Safe Food. Resilient Food Systems. Healthier Nigerians.” Adeyeye pledged that NAFDAC would continue to work with other African regulators, the African Union Commission and development partners on initiatives aimed at strengthening food regulatory systems across the continent.
For African countries, the forum represents a step towards a more coordinated approach to food safety. By sharing regulatory experience and technical capacity, countries can build stronger systems that protect consumers while supporting the growth of intra-African food trade.
Africa Presents is a Pan-African digital magazine and monthly publication covering politics, business, economy, culture, tech, and the stories shaping Africa and its diaspora. Visit africapresents.com and follow @AfricaPresents for daily coverage and monthly themed magazine editions.
Leave a comment