1.3 million Ugandans affected by foodborne illnesses, CSOs warn

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Civil Society Organisations (CSO) advocating for food safety have raised concern over the growing burden of foodborne illnesses in Uganda, revealing that an estimated 1.3 million cases were recorded in the country in 2021 alone.

Speaking during commemorations of World Food Safety Day on June 7, 2026, the organisations cited Ministry of Health data indicating that foodborne illnesses accounted for approximately 14% of the country's total disease burden treated that year.

The figures mirror a wider global challenge. According to the CSOs, an estimated 600 million people worldwide, nearly one in every 10 people, suffer illnesses linked to contaminated food each year, resulting in about 420,000 preventable deaths.

Agnes Kirabo, the executive director of Food Rights Alliance, said the statistics highlight persistent food safety risks and underscore the urgent need to strengthen food safety measures across the entire food value chain.

She noted that unsafe food fuels a cycle of illness, malnutrition and poverty, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups such as children, adolescents, pregnant and lactating women, older persons and individuals living with chronic illnesses or weakened immune systems.

Beyond the immediate health consequences, Kirabo said food contamination undermines consumer confidence, threatens livelihoods, limits market opportunities and slows progress towards national health, nutrition and sustainable development goals.

“Addressing these challenges requires coordinated action by government, the private sector, civil society, development partners, and consumers to ensure that safe, nutritious, and quality food is available and accessible to all Ugandans,” Kirabo said.

She added that key drivers of food contamination include the inappropriate and excessive use of agrochemicals in agricultural production, resulting in harmful chemical residues in food. She also pointed to contamination of water bodies and aquatic life, including fish, through agricultural and industrial runoff, particularly from large-scale plantations.

This year's World Food Safety Day was commemorated under the theme: “From burden to solutions, safe food everywhere.”

Contaminated food hurting trade

During a virtual press conference, Jonathan Lubega, a Policy Analyst at the Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI), said the impact of contaminated food extends beyond public health and has significant implications for trade.

Jonathan Lubega from SEATINI Uganda. (Credit: Prossy Nandudu)

According to Lubega, Uganda continues to face challenges accessing regional markets because of food safety concerns, particularly high levels of aflatoxins in agricultural products.

He said maize exports have frequently been rejected in markets such as Kenya and South Sudan, while Kenya has also restricted imports of Ugandan milk and milk products over food safety concerns.

“These denials of food export to other countries have brought in economic challenges. For example, reports indicate that approximately sh32.8 billion has been lost from 2023 to date on issues of non-compliance with the food safety requirements of the food that we are exporting,” Lubega said.

He added that the country continues to incur substantial healthcare costs associated with treating foodborne illnesses.

“And yet expenditures in the health sector continue to rise to about $1.8 million (about sh6.78 billion) on treating and managing foodborne illnesses. And since Uganda is moving towards the implementation of NDP 4 with a focus on the ATMs, agro-industrialisation, investing in a healthy population is a must,” he said.

Shafik Kagimu, programmes manager at FIAN Uganda, called for stricter regulation of agrochemicals to reduce contamination of water sources that support fisheries and irrigated crop production.

Calls for stronger regulation

The CSOs, including SEATINI, FoSCU, CONSENT, Caritas Uganda, PELUM, CEFROHT, FIAN Uganda and Action Against Hunger (ACF), are calling for the removal of banned agrochemicals from the market and the fast-tracking of the establishment of the Food and Agriculture Regulatory Authority.

They argue that stronger regulation and enforcement are necessary to improve food safety standards and protect public health.