An analysis showing the potential financial benefits of investing in surveillance provides the common language needed to advance discussions, according to experts.
The World Health Organization (WHO) calculated the average return on investment for disease surveillance in 17 countries with intermediate levels of food safety system development.
Results show that each $1 put into improving foodborne disease surveillance capacity could result in $46.60 of benefit over 10 years in countries that move from a Joint External Evaluation (JEE) level 3 to level 4. Benefits vary, ranging from $1 to $124 per $1 invested in the countries included.