The Ministry of Agriculture, together with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration in collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) socialized practical guidlines entitled "Prevention and Control of Zoonoses and Emerging Infectious Diseases through Optimizing the Functions of Puskeswan (Animal Health Centers) with the financial support of Village Funds" to the Boyolali District Government agencies and representatives of 30 villages.

"Village funds can stimulate productive economic growth of the rural community, including in the livestock sector. But this productivity can be disrupted if zoonoses (animal diseases that can be transmitted to humans) are not prevented and controlled. This is where Puskeswan and its cadres play important front line roles in maintaining animal health," said Dr. Irpansyah Batubara, Head of the Sub-Directorate Institution and Animal Health Resources of the Ministry of Agriculture, in front of village officials and the local government.

He added, since 2012 various zoonoses have been recorded in Boyolali, such as anthrax, avian influenza and leptospirosis that threaten the welfare of farmers in terms of both their economic advancement and health. Zoonoses are diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans and vice versa.

"We hope that these practical guidelines that we are sharing today can be implemented together, so we can empower rural communities and improve their welfare, in line with the objectives of the village fund program. Starting from Boyolali, we hope this initiative can be taken up by villages in other regions whose economies also rely on the livestock sector," said Suhandani, Head of the Village Community Cooperation and Partnership Sub-Directorate, Directorate General of PPMD, Ministry of Village, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration.

According to him, since it was launched by the central government in 2015, the village fund program has enabled villages to finance their own development under their own authority, based on the needs and priorities of each village.

The same thing was conveyed by the Deputy Regent of Boyolali, M. Sahid Hidayat who hoped that village funds could be used to improve community welfare. He said Boyolali is a center for animal husbandry in Central Java, where the population’s economy largely depends on agriculture and livestock. Boyolali has 262,700 farmers across 19 sub-districts and 267 villages. "To reduce losses due to animal diseases, we must take preventive measures, so that people's welfare can be safeguarded," he said.

FAO in collaboration with WHO and the Preparedness and Response (P&R) program, supported by USAID Indonesia have developed capacity in four districts to implement the One Health approach in Indonesia. The 'One Health' approach involves the animal health, human, wildlife and environment sectors from the local level to the national level. Boyolali was selected as a pilot district as it is one of the most important livestock production areas, especially for dairy cattle, in Indonesia. "With the potential use of village funds in improving food security, and realizing the magnitude of the threat of animal diseases, the Government of Indonesia has agreed to collaborate in cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary prevention and control of zoonoses and emerging infectious diseases along with FAO", explained Elly Sawitri, Senior National Veterinary Advisor at the FAO Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), Indonesia.

Closing the Socialization program, Irpansyah Batubara of the Ministry of Agriculture added that the involvement of the Ministry of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration through village funds should be recognised as a form of cross-sectoral cooperation that promotes the sustainability of the program. He said that, the Ministry of Health had already initiated the use of village funds for public health through public health centers (puskesmas). "Through this socialization, we hope that village funds can also be used as the seed capital of BUMDes (village-owned companies) which run animal health services. In their management, farmers pay the cost of animal health services to support the BUMDes operations. This will further help villages in developing a sustainable livestock economy to increase people's income and to support government programs in enhancing food security, especially the sources of animal protein", he concluded.