12th REMESA Joint Permanent Committee Meeting
The 12th meeting of the Joint Permanent Committee (JPC) of the Mediterranean Animal Health Network (REMESA) was held in Toledo (Spain) on 10-11 May 2016 and inaugurated by the Director General of Health of the Agricultural Production at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment of Spain, Dr Valentin Almansa Lara, the CVO of Lebanon, Dr Elias Ibrahim, and the Chief of Animal Health Service of FAO, Dr Juan Lubroth, as well as by the OIE Deputy Director General, Dr Jean-Philippe Dop. The meeting was attended by the Chief Veterinary Officers (CVOs) of REMESA member countries or their representatives (Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco and Tunisia), representatives from International and Regional Organisations – e.g. Dr Jean-Luc Angot, President of the EuFMD, Dr Moritz Klemm, DG Health and Food Safety, DG SANTE (European Commission) – and experts from OIE and FAO. This JPC was co-chaired by Spain and Lebanon (which hold the co-presidency of REMESA for 2016).
The agenda of the meeting included FMD, Avian Influenza, Rabies, PPR, as well as vector-borne diseases such as Lumpy Skin Disease. An update on activities of REMESA sub-networks (REPIVET, RELABSA, RECOMSA, RESEPSA) conducted since the last REMESA meeting was also presented.
During this 2-days meeting, the state of play of establishment of a regional vaccine bank for FMD in the REMESA was presented, with a focus on the benefits for the countries who will use this vaccine bank and the administrative and practical procedures that regulates its implementation.