Manama: Over 200 diseases are caused by unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses, chemical substances, Qatar-based World Innovation Summit for Health (Wish) has said.
The diseases are linked to the deaths of some two million people annually, mostly children, Wish said, as it announced on Monday its support to the World Health Day, celebrated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on April 7.
World Health Day is a global awareness day celebrated every year providing a vital platform for drawing attention to major global health concerns.
This year highlights the significance of food safety, aiming to prevent the many illnesses and suffering that can result from consuming contaminated and ill-prepared food.
Wish said that Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) was an area of huge medical concern as growing numbers of bacterial and viral infections are now resistant to antimicrobial drugs.
Wish used AMR as the focus of a research it had undertaken and presented in Qatar in 2013.
“Since the report was published, its evidence-based recommendations have been shared widely with global leaders and policy makers,” Wish said. “In 2014, it was used to contribute to an AMR Independent Review commissioned by UK Prime Minster David Cameron.”
Commenting on the significance of World Health Day, Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham, Executive Chair of WISH and Director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College of London, said that Wish and its community of health experts believed that good health was an essential human right and a cornerstone of sustainable development and global security.
“Our Wish policy reports provide recommendations for policymakers to implement much needed change in how global healthcare is financed and delivered,” he said. “Wish stands alongside WHO today offering our support. We will continue working with governments worldwide to bring about change and prevent unnecessary suffering.”
