Within a “whole-of-society” approach to pandemic preparedness, the food sector is recognised as an essential service which needs to be maintained during a pandemic or any public health emergency. The complex supply chain structure of this sector and the multitude of actors involved, make it very vulnerable to disruptions. In addition, government’s strong capacity to implement related procedures and regulations has to be taken into account, as well as the technical support and coordination by public-private partnerships, international organisations and non-governmental organisation (NGOs).
To strengthen the food sector’s pandemic preparedness and response strategies, ASEF Public Health Network will organise a Strategy Development Workshop on Pandemic Preparedness and Response for Food Supply Security in Vientiane, Lao PDR on 22 – 23 October 2012.
By using the ASEF-ASAP (Accurate Scenarios Active Preparedness) scenarios as tool to analyse the food sector’s contingency planning, the panel of experts at the workshop will develop strategies to address challenges, and build and enhance partnerships with the key stakeholders.
Participants will include leading service providers in the food industry, and representatives from government institutions, international organisations and NGOs.
The key recommendations out of the workshop will be published later at this page.
This workshop, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Lao PDR, is organised with the technical assistance of Nestlé and the World Food Programme (WFP).
