WHO

June 7: World Food Safety Day

Safer Food, Better Health

Foodborne diseases affect 1 in 10 people worldwide each year. There are over 200 of these diseases – some mild, but others deadly. 

The United Nations General Assembly established World Food Safety Day in 2018 to raise awareness of this important issue. WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) jointly facilitate the observance of World Food Safety Day, in collaboration with Member States and other stakeholders.

This year’s theme, “Safer food, better health”, highlights the role that safe, nutritional food plays in ensuring human health and well-being and calls for a set of specific actions to make food safer.

We all have a role to play; whether we grow, process, transport, store, sell, buy, prepare or serve food, food safety is in all our hands. And if we work together, we can all help achieve safer food for better health.

Visit https://www.who.int/news-room/events for more information on the events and how you can get involved.

Call for Papers: WHO Special Theme Issue “Chatbots and COVID-19″.

JMIR Publications is delighted to announce a collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) in publishing a theme issue entitled “Chatbots and COVID-19“.

The Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) (IF 5.43) is issuing a Call for Papers for a special theme issue to examine the use of chatbots during the pandemic.

JMIR and the WHO welcome submissions related to the development, use, and impact of chatbots during the pandemic and into the future.

For this theme issue, the article processing fee (APF) is discounted by 20%.

Submissions due: 30 April 2022

Initial decisions: 30 June 2022

Publication begins: 30 November 2022

The “Chatbots and COVID-19” theme issue will showcase research papers based on the WHO’s work with chatbots.  This theme issue springs from the WHO’s experience in building and utilizing chatbots to share information and advice during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO’s webinar series invited governments, NGOs, academia, and the private sector to come together to discuss and share lessons learned during the pandemic.

The guest editors for this theme issue are:

•             Andy Pattison, Team Lead Digital Channels at the WHO in Geneva.

•             Gini Arnold, Head of the Ambassador Team in the Department of Social Determinants at the WHO Headquarters in Geneva.

•             Robert Marten, Scientist at the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research at the WHO in Geneva.

•             Hebe Gouda, Epidemiologist and Project Officer with the WHO Tobacco Free Initiative in Geneva.

•             Tina Purnat, Team Lead for Infodemic Management at the Unit for High Impact Events Preparedness, Department of Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness at the WHO.

Learn More
Nurse checks a woman's blood pressure Photo by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography on Unsplash

Planning the workforce and global health system strengthening – Year of the Health and Care Workers Seminars

Health Education England is delighted to invite you to a series of seminars, focusing on the importance of strengthening the health workforce internationally in support of the World Health Organizations’s (WHO) Year of the Health and Care Workers (YHCW) programme.

The first seminar, An Introduction to systematic workforce planning will be held on 13 December 2021, 09:30 -10:30 GMT. Please register below to secure your place

Register here:

Year of the Health and Care Workers – Global Health Partnerships (hee.nhs.uk)

WHO-HEE-YHCW-Seminar-1-flyerDownload

It’s not too late to register for the 2nd WHO Western Pacific Region Partners’ Forum

WHO are pleased to extend the registration deadline for the Second WHO Western Pacific Region Partners Forum to midnight (GMT+8) tonight! If you have not yet registered, please do so here using code: P@rtn3rsh!ps21

The Forum takes place this week 30 June-2 July.

A detailed session outline is available on the event page. Highlights include:

  • Opening of the Forum by Dr Takeshi Kasai, WHO’s Regional Director for the Western Pacific
  • In-depth interactive sessions on key public health challenges for the Region
  • On Friday they’ll focus on engaging young people in public health and discuss practical ways for early and mid-career professionals to work with WHO
  • The opportunity to participate in their research project, “Exploring factors of success in public health partnerships in the Western Pacific”

They are excited to be using a virtual platform that enables them to connect with partners in different ways. You’ll be able to:

  • Let others know more about you by building your profile – upload a photo and tell us what interests you
  • Join a session of “speed partnering” on Day 1 and get to know other partners and WHO staff
  • Browse the virtual Partners Expo, where partners are showcasing their work (or sign up here to set up a booth of your own)
  • Make appointments with WHO technical directors, and with Dr Takeshi Kasai

The Forum platform will be open from 06:00 GMT+8 on 30 June to give you some time to get used to it before the opening session at 09:00.