Foreign news.
A devastating wave of food poisoning has swept across South Africa, claiming the lives of 23 children and leaving nearly 900 others, many of them minors, critically ill since September.
The crisis came into sharp focus when six young children in Johannesburg, all under 8 years old, began convulsing shortly after sharing snacks purchased from a local shop. They died moments later, becoming the latest victims of a growing public health catastrophe.
In response, the South African government declared a national disaster on Thursday, with President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighting the scale of the crisis in a televised address.
He revealed that traces of hazardous pesticides, including terbufos and aldicarb, had been found in the food consumed by the children.
Both substances, commonly used in agriculture but highly toxic to humans, have been improperly adopted as “street pesticides” in impoverished areas to combat rampant rat infestations.
Expired and counterfeit food products have also emerged as culprits, according to grieving families and residents.
These dangerous practices have been exacerbated by failing municipal services, such as waste collection, and lax enforcement of food safety regulations in neglected townships.
The outbreak has forced the government to confront systemic issues in departments tasked with regulating food safety and public health.
A coordinated response involving multiple ministries is underway, including health, education, agriculture, and trade.
Officials are inspecting shops and visiting mourning families, while efforts are being made to register informal stores, known as spaza shops, which are often operated by migrants and cater to low-income communities.
Despite these measures, tensions remain high in affected areas, with some residents targeting immigrant shop owners, accusing them of selling expired or contaminated food.
President Ramaphosa has urged restraint, emphasizing that unsafe practices are not limited to foreign-owned stores.
For families who have lost children, the measures offer little solace.
The tragedy has left a trail of grief across the country: a 4-year-old girl in Kimberley died after eating bread; a 9-year-old girl in the Eastern Cape succumbed after consuming crisps; and just this week, a 5-year-old boy in Soweto died 20 minutes after eating a snack, not far from where the six friends perished weeks earlier.
Triphina Msimango, who lost her grandson, reflected on the devastating loss: “Because these children are friends, they share everything. They shared the snacks among themselves, not knowing they were eating poison,”he said.
As South Africa mourns, the tragedy serves as a painful reminder of the intersection between poverty, negligence, and systemic failure.
(New York Times).
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
