World Field Epidemiology Day

7 September 2026

Field epidemiologists play a vital role in protecting the health of people, animals, plants and ecosystems. Working across sectors and often behind the scenes, they help detect and investigate disease outbreaks, track emerging threats, analyse data and turn evidence into action.

At FAO, field epidemiology is an important part of strengthening animal health systems and advancing the One Health approach – supporting countries to improve surveillance, build workforce capacities and respond rapidly to health threats at their source.

On World Field Epidemiology Day 2026, under the theme protecting communities from behind the scenes, we recognize the field epidemiologists whose work helps countries prevent, detect and respond to health threats and build more resilient agrifood systems and communities.