WHO: Unsafe Food Causes 866 Million Illnesses and 1.5 Million Deaths Annually, New Estimates Show

Updated global estimates released on World Food Safety Day reveal children under five bear a disproportionate share of the burden, as climate change and antimicrobial resistance compound existing risks

Unsafe food causes an estimated 866 million illnesses and 1.5 million deaths each year worldwide, according to updated estimates released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on World Food Safety Day, observed June 7, 2026.

Background: The Global Burden of Foodborne Disease

Foodborne illness has long been recognized as a significant, if often underappreciated, global public health challenge, affecting populations across every region regardless of income level. Unlike many infectious disease categories that receive sustained international attention, foodborne illness frequently goes underreported and undercounted, in part because it often presents as short-term gastrointestinal illness that resolves without medical intervention, and in part because surveillance systems for tracking foodborne disease remain far weaker in many countries compared to systems tracking other infectious diseases.

WHO has periodically issued global estimates of the foodborne disease burden in an effort to quantify a health challenge that might otherwise remain largely invisible in national and international health data. These estimates serve an important function in helping governments and international health bodies calibrate their public health priorities, particularly around investments in food safety infrastructure, water and sanitation systems, and healthcare access for the populations most affected.

The release of updated estimates on World Food Safety Day — an annual observance established to raise awareness of food safety issues globally — reflects WHO’s ongoing effort to keep foodborne illness prominently positioned within global health and development conversations.

Scale of the Problem

According to the newly released estimates, unsafe food is responsible for approximately 866 million illnesses and 1.5 million deaths globally each year. WHO has indicated that a substantial share of these illnesses and deaths could be prevented through a combination of interventions, including improved water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure, stronger food safety practices such as pasteurization, and expanded access to health care for the populations most vulnerable to foodborne illness.

This framing positions foodborne disease not as an intractable public health challenge, but as one that is substantially addressable through known, implementable interventions — many of which overlap directly with broader water and sanitation investments already prioritized in global development agendas.

Children Face Disproportionate Risk

Among the report’s most notable findings is the significantly elevated risk faced by young children. According to WHO’s estimates, children under the age of five face almost three times the risk of illness from unsafe food compared to older children and adults. Despite making up just 9% of the global population, children in this age group account for nearly one-third of all foodborne disease cases worldwide.

This disproportionate burden is particularly concentrated in diarrhoeal diseases, which WHO notes can be deadly for children in this age group — a finding that underscores the particular vulnerability of young children to the combined effects of unsafe food, inadequate sanitation, and limited access to timely medical care in many parts of the world.

Regional Inequalities Persist

WHO’s updated estimates show that the overall global burden of foodborne disease has declined since 2000, indicating meaningful long-term progress in reducing the overall scale of the problem. However, the data also reveals that significant regional inequalities persist, with the greatest burden of foodborne disease concentrated in Africa and South-East Asia.

This regional disparity reflects broader, well-documented patterns in global health outcomes, in which improvements in water, sanitation, food safety infrastructure, and healthcare access have not been evenly distributed across regions — leaving some parts of the world to continue bearing a disproportionate share of preventable disease burden even as global averages improve.

Emerging Compounding Risks

WHO also highlighted two emerging factors that are complicating efforts to further reduce the foodborne disease burden going forward. First, climate change is noted as increasing contamination risks, suggesting that shifting environmental conditions may be creating new or intensified pathways for food contamination that did not previously exist at the same scale.

Second, WHO points to antimicrobial resistance as a growing complication, noting that it is making infections — including those originating from unsafe food — increasingly difficult to treat. This trend mirrors broader global health concerns about antimicrobial resistance, which has been identified across multiple disease categories as a rising threat to the effectiveness of existing medical treatments.

Why This Matters

Taken together, these findings suggest that while substantial progress has been made in reducing foodborne illness globally since 2000, the path forward faces new and compounding challenges. The combination of persistent regional inequality, disproportionate risk to young children, and emerging pressures from climate change and antimicrobial resistance points toward a need for continued and adaptable investment in food safety systems — particularly in the regions, such as Africa and South-East Asia, where the burden remains highest.

WHO’s release of these updated estimates on World Food Safety Day is likely intended to reinforce the case for sustained global attention to food safety as an integrated component of broader public health, water, and sanitation strategies, rather than a standalone or lower-priority concern.

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