Co-chairs

Summary

WG1 was established to focus on Outcome 1 of the Alliance’s work plan, which aims to have foodborne diseases included in national public health surveillance systems. 

WG1 has reached a major milestone with the finalization of the second edition of the WHO manuals on strengthening surveillance of and response to foodborne diseases. This five-volume resource provides practical guidance on how countries can strengthen foodborne disease surveillance and response activities and integrate them into national systems required under the International Health Regulations. Publication online is on track for October 2025, which will mark a momentous achievement and provide countries with a comprehensive global reference for strengthening their FBD surveillance capacity.

To improve accessibility of the manuals, WG1 has reviewed the outline and proposed structure of a companion e-learning module. Its production will move forward once funding is available.

WG1 is also contributing to a policy brief titled, Strengthening Foodborne Disease Surveillance and Food Contamination Monitoring: Building Legal and Institutional Foundations for Food Safety and Public Health. The brief aims to raise awareness of the importance of FBD surveillance, advocate for inclusion of priority FBDs in national notifiable disease lists, and present practical policy options for governments to strengthen legal, institutional, and technical frameworks.

In addition, WG1 has developed a concept for a pilot project to improve FBD surveillance in a low- or middle-income country. Progress on this initiative is pending the availability of funding for implementation. 

Highlights

• Milestone reached: the second edition of WHO’s manuals on foodborne disease surveillance is a key global reference to help countries strengthen systems under the International Health Regulations. 
• Under development: A new policy brief will guide governments in building the legal and institutional foundations needed for stronger food safety surveillance.
• Concept realized: A pilot project concept has been developed to support low- and middle-income countries in strengthening foodborne disease surveillance systems.