ADDIS ABABA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) announced Wednesday that the Africa Food Safety Agency will be established shortly in a bid to enhance food safety across the continent.

The AU said in a statement that the agency will serve as its specialized technical institution, dedicated to coordinating food safety policies, regulations, and risk assessment frameworks across Africa.

During the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, which was held in February in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, the AU adopted a statute for the establishment of the Africa Food Safety Agency.

The adoption marked a "significant advancement" in the continent's commitment to protecting consumer health, strengthening Africa's food safety governance and facilitating trade in safe food products under the African Continental Free Trade Area, the statement said.

The move is in response to Africa's disproportionate burden of food-borne illnesses, which affects 91 million people and results in 137,000 deaths annually, one-third of the global mortality due to food-borne diseases, the statement quoted the World Health Organization as saying.

The economic toll of unsafe food is equally staggering, with the World Bank estimating losses of 110 billion U.S. dollars annually in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia due to lost productivity and medical costs, the statement said.

The agency will establish a continental food safety data hub and rapid alert system, providing critical support to African countries in managing food safety risks and emergencies. It will also coordinate food safety initiatives at the continental level while complementing and strengthening the food safety coordination function of regional economic communities, it said. Enditem

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