Each year, over 600 million people - 1 in 10 - are affected by foodborne diseases. Children under five years of age are particularly at high risk as 120 000 of them die from unsafe food, comprising 30% of the total foodborne deaths annually. Under the global issues being faced by climate change, emerging diseases and changes in food production and supply system, the food safety community is put to address new challenges.
Foodborne diseases are preventable, however. It depends on informed policy-making, political commitment, and effective intervention strategies focused on the most critical food safety problems. Estimating the national burden of foodborne disease is an essential component of reduction efforts. The results will provide the evidence needed for an efficient allocation of both resources and efforts to prevention measures, support the development of national risk-based food safety systems, and promote participation in activities for setting international food standards and in trade organizations.
WHO is pleased to invite you to this webinar to go into its new publication, “Estimating the burden of foodborne diseases: a practical handbook for countries”, speak about what we know today about the foodborne disease burden, share policy perspective and country experience.
Date: 29 June 2021, Tuesday
Time: 13:30 – 15:00 CET (90 min)
Moderators
Dr Francesco Branca, Director, Department of Nutrition and Food Safety
Speakers
- Dr Rob Lake, Manager, Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited, New Zealand
- Dr Sara Pires, Senior researcher, National Food Institute, Denmark
- Dr Amare Ayalew, Program manager, African Union Commission, Ethiopia
- Dr Lapo Mughini Gras, Senior epidemiologist, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, The Netherlands
Agenda
- Introduction and the opening remarks - Dr Francesco Branca
- Burden of foodborne diseases – Dr Rob Lake
- How to estimate the burden of foodborne diseases – Dr Sara Pires
- Regional perspective from Africa – Dr Amare Ayalew
- Country experience from the Netherlands – Dr Lapo Mughini Gras
- Questions and answers