Capacity building and support from international organizations

Abstract

Abstract WHO has a critical role to provide the evidence for action to improve food safety and to support Member states to effectively collect, analyse, report and use data on foodborne diseases. In 2006, WHO launched the initiative to estimate the global burden of foodborne diseases. The estimates were published in 2015 and showed that every year, 31 selected food-associated hazards contribute to 600 million people falling ill and 420,000 people dying because of contaminated food. About 40% of the burden was borne by children under 5 years of age. Due to limitations of diseases surveillance systems and the fact that not all ill people seek medical care, the estimated burden is recognised to be only the 'tip of the iceberg'. The actual burden is expected to be significantly higher. In line with global and regional action frameworks and based on country support plans and biennial collaboration agreements with Member States, WHO, in collaboration with its partners and collaborating centres, provides technical assistance to Member States to strengthen national food safety systems. This includes technical assistance to generate, collect and analyse food safety information underpinning evidence. Information about the burden of foodborne diseases is important to inform policy, guide resource allocation and to determine potential prevention and control measures for food safety. Acknowledging that most food safety policy work takes place at country level, WHO is developing tools for Member States to estimate the national burden of foodborne diseases. The tools are being developed to build capacity in Member States to collect, analyse and use foodborne disease data, prioritize specific food safety issues, identify risk factors in foodborne diseases and provide a baseline against which future food safety interventions can be evaluated.