GO Blog

Today is our day at the World Health Organization (WHO) and we are meeting with officials from the Department of Food Safety, Zoonoses and Foodborne Diseases (FOS) including:

Danilo Lo-Fo-Wong, FOS scientist
Welcome and overview of WHO food safety network and building global capacity

Bernadette Abela-Riddler, FOS scientist
Global Early Warning Systems (GLEWS) for Major Animal Diseases including Zoonosis

Elizabeth Mumford, Technical Officer, Global Influenza Program
Avian Influenza and the Human-Animal Interface

Fernando Gonzalez-Martin, International Health Regulation
International Health Regulations

Jennifer Bishop, FOS Scientist
International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN)

James Zimmerly, Technical Officer
Visit and overview of the WHO Strategic Health Operations Center (SHOC Room).
Very cool!

At the close of the day, Peter Jones with the International Federation for Animal Health (IFAH) made a presentation on “Fostering International Public-Private Partnerships”.

The trip to the WHO was an easy public transportation ride and walk up the hill. We passed the famous sculpture, The Broken Chair, dedicated to victims of land mines, the United Nations Building, and a River Blindness sculpture of a boy leading a blind man with a stick. Participants, faculty and guests dined on traditional Swiss fare including fondue and cured meats at Edelweiss restaurant. We enjoyed entertainment by Swiss musicians playing an assortment of instruments including accordion, alphorn, cowbells and saws. Guests were invited to try the alphorn – several from our group gave it a go including Will Hueston, Morgan Hennessey and Mary Avriette. It is off to Rome on Thursday.