G/SPS/GEN/1428  
 
3 July 2015  
(15-3456)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures    
 
  SPS COMMITTEE THEMATIC SESSION  ON RISK COMMMUNICATION 
WEDNESDAY, 15 JULY 2015 
WTO, CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD, GENEVA 
PROGRAMME 
The SPS Committee agreed, at its March 2015 meeting, to hold a thematic session on risk 
communication immediately preceding its July 2015 meeting, based on a proposal submitted by 
the United States.1 The session would offer an opportunity for Members and relevant international 
organizations to share experiences and lessons learned in relation to risk communication strategies in the SPS area.   
On this basis, the WTO Secretariat is organizing a thematic session on risk communication to be 
held in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday, 15 July 2015, beginning at 10 a.m. 
 
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10:00–10:15 
1.  Importance of risk communication and it s 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 th e 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 commu nication 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) 
                                               
1 G/SPS/GEN/1401, which focused on possible next step s following the workshop on risk analysis held in 
October 2014.  G/SPS/GEN/1428 
 
- 2 - 
 
   Professor William Hallman , Rutgers University, Chair of the US FDA's Risk 
Communication Advisory Committee 
 
11:30–12:50 
3.  Practical experiences and lessons lear ned 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 ba rriers 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 ” 
 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" 
 Dr Lisa Indar , Programme Manager, Tourism and Health Programme - Surveillance, 
Disease Prevention & Control Division, Ca ribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) 
"Risk communication for health and f ood safety: The Caribbean experience"  
 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" 
 
12:50–13:00 
4.  Conclusion and next steps 
 
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