SPS Thematic Session on Risk Communication
Wednesday, 15 July 2015 WTO, Centre William Rappard, Geneva

10:00 — 10:15

1.  Importance of risk communication and its contribution to the operation of the SPS Committee and Members' implementation of the SPS Agreement

Speaker: Ms Gretchen Stanton, Senior Counsellor, WTO Secretariat

10:15 — 11:30

2.  Frameworks and guidance in the area of risk communication

A panel of speakers will address the existing frameworks and guidance related to risk communication. Focus will be placed on the relevant international standards, as well as issues linked to: identifying the audience and their communication needs; translating the risk assessment and risk management into communication messages; improving communication between risk assessors and risk managers; communicating uncertainty; and methods to support risk communication, including the role of technology.

Panel:

• Mr Tom Heilandt, Secretary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
• Ms Sonya Hammons,Capacity Development Programme Officer, International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)
• Dr Derek Belton, Head, International Trade Department,World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)
• Dr Andrijana Rajic, Food Safety Officer,Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• Mr Eric Bolaños, Agricultural Health and Food Safety Specialist, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
• Professor William Hallman, Rutgers University, Chair of the US FDA's Risk Communication Advisory Committee

11:30 — 12:50

3.  Practical experiences and lessons learned related to the risk communication strategies employed in response to specific SPS issues

Areas of focus in this session will include: tailoring risk communication strategies to specific SPS challenges; projecting and instilling confidence in science-based risk analysis as a basis for "successful risk communication"; and identifying barriers that must be overcome in implementing a successful and targeted communication strategy. Presenters will be invited to answer the following questions:

• How did you obtain the information that was communicated?
• How did you know what the audience needed/wanted to hear?
• How was uncertainty communicated?
• What lessons were learned?

Speakers:

• Dr Frans Verstraete, Head of Unit in the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission
  “Effective risk communication for maintaining/restoring consumer confidence: Experiences from recent contamination events in the EU”
  > Presentation

• Dr Christopher R. Braden, Director, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  "CDC's experience: A case study of communications during a foodborne outbreak response"
  > Presentation

• Dr Lisa Indar, Programme Manager, Tourism and Health Programme - Surveillance, Disease Prevention & Control Division, Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA)
  "Risk communication for health and food safety: The Caribbean experience"
  > Presentation

• Dr Margareth de Lara Capurro-Guimarães, Associate Professor, Department of Parasitology, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
  "Brazil's experience: Risk communication plan for genetically engineered mosquitoes"
  > Presentation

12:50–13:00

4.  Conclusion and next steps