2-5 October 2023, Agropoli, Italy – The European Center Disaster Medicine (CEMEC), a specialized center of the Council of Europe based in San Marino, with whom PAM has recently signed an agreement, organized a dedicated seminar on bioterrorism and threats to food supply chains, in Agropoli. Professor Massimo Giangaspero, PAM’s senior advisor on One Health, together with senior staff of the Secretariat, represented the Assembly by actively contributing to the discussions with lectures on Bioterrorism, organized transnational crime and international cooperation.
The course was aimed at addressing agro-crime, agro-terrorism, and biological threats, stressing their impact on food supply chains, whilst focusing on the strategies to enhance resilience in the agri-food sector. Throughout the course, experts have considered the interconnections among human, animal, and environmental health, emphasizing the importance of maintaining an interdisciplinary method in crisis management and prevention within the field of food security.
In pursuit of this objective, the World Health Organization has recently adopted a “One Health” approach, a cooperative, multisectoral and interdisciplinary strategy, that has been fully shared and embraced by PAM. In fact, the Assembly has recently decided to appoint Prof. Massimo Giangaspero as its Special Advisor on the topic.
In his lecture, Professor Giangaspero explored lessons learned and best practices related to animal health, infectious diseases, and transmissible animal diseases within the framework of bioterrorism. He did so by examining historical instances of epidemic outbreaks and bioterrorism up to present days. His concluding remarks, Professor Giangaspero called for the creation of a reinforced and harmonized international surveillance network to proactively address and manage potential emerging health and security challenges, supported by harmonized national and international legislative frameworks.
Recognizing the current international threats faced by the agri-food sector and its implications for the global food security and safety, PAM is committed to participating in the global effort to strengthen the resilience of the food supply chains and reduce potential risks of bioterrorism.
PAM will continue to closely work with CEMEC in all the relevant and related areas of cooperation, including the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) risks that will be addressed at the forthcoming meeting of October of the “World Congress on CBRNe Applied Science and Consequence Management” in Croatia. //