Enhancing developing country participation in FAO/WHO scientific advice activities (FAO Food and Nutrition Paper)

FAO and WHO have a long history of providing scientific advice on food safety and nutrition to Codex Alimentarius and FAO/WHO member countries. Since 2003, both organizations have been implementing a consultative process to guide their efforts to improve the quality, quantity and timeless of the scientific advice provided. The consultative process has followed several steps, including a planning meeting, an electronic forum and a workshop, facilitating an open and transparent review process that considered the opinions of all interested parties. Through this process, two key issues have been identified - the urgent need to enhance the participation of experts from developing countries in the discussions and expert meetings used to generate and provide the advice, and the importance of considering data and information from developing countries in all deliberations. FAO and WHO therefore held a meeting on this matter in December 2005 in Belgrade to address these needs. The report highlights the mechanisms identified by the meeting to reach out better to qualified experts and institutions in developing countries, including mechanisms to search for information and experts that may not be easily accessible through normal channels, and suggested plans to strengthen the capacity of developing country experts to participate effectively in expert meetings, including training efforts at international and national levels, involving governmental, non-governmental and scientific institutions. The report calls on commitment from governments, industry and academia at national and regional levels to generate scientific data from developing countries and facilitate their input to international FAO/WHO scientific advice.