Inception Workshop GCP/RAB/010/SPA Project

The North Africa Unit of the Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases of the FAO (FAO-ECTAD-NA) organised the inception workshop of the GCP/RAB/010/SPA Project "Strengthening systems of prevention and control of Transboundary Animal Diseases in the Maghreb and Egypt: towards a Mediterranean Animal Health Network (REMESA)" which was held from 29th November to 1st December 2010 in Tunis-Tunisia. This project, funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development and Cooperation (AECID), is to strengthen national veterinary services of Northern Africa countries and Egypt in charge of animal diseases, to ensure better prevention and effective monitoring, in particular of those Transboundary animal diseases that could cause a threat to the entire region.

The first two days of the workshop aimed at familiarizing the main recipient countries (Maghreb and Egypt) with the logical framework of the project and planned activities in accordance with national and regional strategies. To do this, thematic groups were formed to cover the issues of epidemiology, veterinary laboratory, socio-economics and communications in animal health.

As for the third day of the workshop (1st December 2010), it was dedicated to the presentation of the results and recommendations to the Chiefs of Veterinary Services (CVOs) in recipient countries and Mediterranean countries, to regional partners: World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), representatives of regional and international organizations (AMU, CE ...), and the donors community, in order to ensure the success of this project and reinforce the coordination between veterinaries services of the Mediterranean countries.

For more details, please refer to the "Rapport de l'atelier" (in French) .