We would hope then also in the future that we would be able to attract maybe more extra-budgetary funding for the scientific advice needed for Codex, because, as we have stated several times, also at this meeting, the needs for scientific advice are clearly increasing.
Transcript from part of a meeting held in Rome, Italy, on Tuesday 5th July, 2005
Note that although Dr. Schlundt was of the opinion that “we need to do more for human health”, he did not actually criticize Codex. In fact, he specifically talked about “the importance of Codex”, and stated his hope that WHO would be able to attract “more extra-budgetary funding for the scientific advice needed for Codex”.
Significantly, therefore, and as we shall see, with regard to what he described as the “initiatives that have been going on over the last six years”, along with the need he expressed to “ show the world that Codex is actually helping also in relation to public health”, it soon became apparent that Dr. Schlundt was primarily referring here to Codex work on microbiological risk assessment and biotechnology, as opposed to nutrition.
Later in this discussion, a second WHO representative spoke up, in response to a number of countries who had expressed their dissatisfaction with the lower level of funding provided by WHO to Codex compared to that of FAO. Her speech is reproduced below:
I have to answer for the record that we hear you but I don’t think you go about it in the right way.
This is not going to work because the Executive Board of Codex and the Commission are going to be perceived by WHO governing bodies as an interested party.
So you are asking the governing bodies of WHO, as an interested party, to increase a share in our budget for your work.
Now, if WHO would always listen to all the external interested parties, I can assure you our budget would be blown in no time.
So I think the only way forward is that you go back home and you talk to your colleagues in ministries of health, and you ask them to speak up in the WHO Executive Board and in the World Health Assembly, and that they ask this, because at the last WHO World Health Assembly guess how many Member States represented by ministries of health spoke on the issue of Codex? One!
One Member State asked a question.
And that is just the truth of the matter.
What I, from the Secretariat have to tell you, is that WHO, at this point, the Secretariat, the Director-General, is allocating 2 percent of the overall budget to food safety work in the organization.
Now please do go back and ask your colleagues in ministries of health how much of their budget goes to food safety-related work, and I’m sure you will have a very, very harsh awakening.
So I think if you want to get away from just griping about not getting enough money from the health community, we have to do it the proper way, and the proper way is that those that represent your countries in the governing bodies of WHO need to speak up on this.
For now, I can only assure you that we in the Secretariat are doing our damnest to get the funds that you need in…..from us to get the scientific advice, and to the support of the Codex machinery.