Date: 9 June 2021, Wednesday
Time: 13:00 – 14:30 CET (90 min)
Background
600 million - 1 in 10 - people are annually 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.1 The
magnitude of this public health burden due to foodborne diseases is comparable to that of malaria, HIV, or tuberculosis, which is believed to be just the tip of the iceberg. Foodborne disease are also responsible for a wide range of economic costs.
It is estimated that US$95 billion a year in low- and middle-income countries is associated with productivity loss alone.2 Currently 247 indicators are monitored across a broad range of areas to assess progress towards achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but no food safety indicator is recognized yet despite the acknowledged interlinkages of food safety with SDGs 2, 3, or 8. This hinders progress and camouflaging areas that need more attention within food safety
and across the above mentioned SDGs.
Safe food is not only important but a prerequisite for nutritious food. At the International Food Safety Conference in 2019 convened among over 500 participants from 110 governments, various food safety problems were discussed and solutions and required actions are proposed.3 As the community moves ahead to implement such measures, it may help to have explicit goals (targets) and indicators that can measure progress towards attaining these goals because ‘what cannot be measured cannot be managed’. Given the extremely high burden of foodborne diseases based on WHO global report and the likelihood of increasing especially in low and middle-income countries, food safety should be a priority for public health. This webinar will discuss if and how having such a global indicator can contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, thereby strengthening national food safety system.
Aim
To discuss the potential of proposing an SDG indicator for stronger food safety accountabilities and reducing the health burden from unsafe food.
Objectives
- Reflect challenges and benefits for food safety associated with the development of a potential SDG indicator
- Discuss a role of various food safety stakeholders in a global shared accountability in food safety
Convener
WHO Department of Nutrition and Food Safety
Co-convener
Action Track 1 Food System Summit
Proposed agenda
| 10 min | Introduction by moderator, Dr Francesco Branca |
| 5 min | Opening remarks by Dr Samira Asma Assistant Director-General, Data, Analytics and Delivery for Impact, World Health Organization (WHO) |
| 5 min | Keynote speech by Dr Lawrence Haddad Chair of the Action Track 1 for UN Food System Summit and Executive Director, Global alliance for Improved Nutrition |
| 15 min | Existing regional effort – “Regional perspective in institutionalizing food safety tracking: The Africa Food Safety Index” presentation by Dr Amare Ayalew Program Manager, Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa, African Union Commission Headquarters, Ethiopia |
| 10 min | Existing national effort – “Food Safety Index in India: Evolution from Crisis to Global Model for LMICs” presentation by Dr Pawan Agarwal Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India |
| 40 min | Panel discussions
|
| 5 min | Closing remarks by Dr Francesco Branca Director, Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, WHO |