Participants at the national meeting to develop guidelines for foodborne disease surveillance and response6 March 2025, Baghdad, Iraq – A national meeting, convened between 17–19 February 2025, brought together leading experts and stakeholders to develop comprehensive national guidelines to improve the detection and response to foodborne disease outbreaks.
The Ministry of Health, in partnership with the World Health Organization and with the involvement of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control, collaborated to organize the meeting.
The initiative underscored the government’s commitment to safeguarding public health and promoting food safety in Iraq.
In her opening remarks, Director of Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Baghdad) Dr Sinan Ghazi stressed the importance of a coordinated approach to tackling foodborne diseases that pose a significant threat to public health and the economy.
“Our goal is to develop a unified framework that will enhance our ability to detect and respond to foodborne outbreaks,” she said.
The meeting included sessions presented by experts from the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) secretariat. The Food Safety Department of the Qatari Ministry of Public Health and the Jordan Food and Drug Administration shared their insights and experience in promoting cross-sectoral collaboration for early detection and response to food-safety incidents.
The meeting established a foundation for developing a comprehensive national guideline, improved coordination, and strengthened Iraq’s preparedness for foodborne disease outbreaks. Concluded with a tailored work plan for 2025-2026 to address specific needs stemmed from the assessment and ultimately enhance the food safety capacity scores reported through the International Health Regulations (IHR).
