In a bid to develop the case definitions of different kinds of food borne diseases, the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) has begun a two-day forum in Monrovia.
The two-day workshop is in line Liberia with the Government of Liberia (GoL) established policies, regulations, guidelines, and SOPs (such as the National Food and Feed Quile and Safety Act of 2019).
The Act gives NPHIL the authority to ensure food safety in Liberia, while at the same time promote food and feed safety control, surveillance, and response to foodborne diseases and contamination.
NPHIL, being the government’s arm to detect and respond to diseases, has food safety officers and environmental health technicians for surveillance, response, and management of food safety at all levels.
Speaking at the two-day forum, the Director of the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health at NPHIL, Amos Gborie, explained that the workshop is intended for health professionals to develop case definitions that will guide surveillance officers.
“The workshop aims to develop case definitions that will guide surveillance officers. You (Sruveillance are the first point of contact. These case definitions will be used by you in dectection of food diseases since tghey are not taught this in their medical education,” said Mr. Gborie.
Mr. Gborie, who categorized the three kinds of food borne diseases as Biological, chemical and physical, pointed out that these definitions will be piloted at various facilities over a period of time so that surveillance officers will in turn master the different kinds of diseases.
“I would like to expressed our thanks and appreciation for those of you who have come to help us develop the case definitions. Liberia has been experiencing different kinds of food borne diseases and this is why we are here to develop some of these case definitions.”
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