FAO supports district local governments and district veterinary officers to boost livestock disease reporting
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has donated assorted ICT equipment to twelve districts in Uganda, to help strengthen animal disease surveillance and reporting from the district to the national coordination center. The equipment will help to improve timely submission of disease incidence reports from the beneficiary districts of Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale, Kabarole, Kyenjojo, Hoima, Mukono, Busia, Yumbe, Gulu, and Moroto (sub-national level), to the National Animal Disease Diagnostics and Epidemiology Centre (NADDEC) at the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) in Entebbe (national level). Delays in data and information sharing, especially on disease incidences has a domino effect on containing outbreaks; causing delays in response, facilitating disease spread to more areas, straining control efforts and making the overall disease management expensive.
The donation of desktop computers, printers, Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) systems, internet data dongles and tonners, was made at the FAO office in Kampala. This support was possible through the project on “Supporting the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) to address zoonotic diseases and animal health in Africa”, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The donation of equipment was made following case studies from the selected districts, under the Global Health Security Agenda Proof of Concept (PoC) intervention. The PoC aims to facilitate sustainable animal health service provision in the local authorities and progress from this intervention will be measured through structured monitoring and evaluation models. The PoC will ensure linkage between NADDEC and the districts to promote efficient and effective preparedness, prevention detection, response and recovery to priority zoonotic and transboundary animal disease threats. Some of the activities will include identification of key challenges of the districts, surveillance studies, socio-economic studies on priority diseases (for transboundary animal diseases and zoonoses), antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use studies, capacity building and various animal health studies as prioritized by the districts.
A survey conducted during the PoC revealed that most of the districts lacked basic ICT equipment for animal disease data management and reporting. This donation is therefore timely because it will boost the districts’ capacity of District Veterinary Officers (DVOs) in animal disease data collection and timely reporting to the National Epidemiology Unit at MAAIF. The 12 districts will serve as focal areas to demonstrate best practices from which future tactical gains in global health can be benchmarked for the benefit of the entire country.
Speaking at the handover ceremony held on Thursday June 25 at FAO Representative in Uganda Antonio Querido underscored the need for continuous surveillance, data collection and reporting for appropriate decision-making and improvement of the livestock sector.
“Collecting the right data and transmitting it to the center is critical for decisions affecting the sector. The equipment is basic but it is our sincere hope that it will serve the purpose in filling some of the existing response gaps affecting timely reporting,” he said.
MAAIF’s Chief Veterinary Officer and Commissioner for Animal Health- Rose Ademun appreciated FAO’s support, saying that if used for the right purpose, will help increase timely and quality reports from some of the districts that have not been reporting and those whose reports are usually late.
The District Veterinary Officers receiving the items thanked FAO for aiding them do their work more efficiently.
Patrick Barasa- Busia District Veterinary Officer expressed his gratitude, saying that the new equipment will see him and his Deputy improve their work.
“We did not have any office computer. I have been sharing my personal computer with the district surveillance focal person”, he said. “When I am not in office, he cannot access some of the data on my laptop”, he added. Barasa said that the new computer would be stationed in the office and accessible at any time. Additionally, the computers have the relevant software for data entry, storage and analysis to improve timely reporting and quality of the data.
In addition to equipment, the DVOs and surveillance teams have undergone a series of trainings in surveillance, risk communication, data collection, reporting, laboratory and diagnostics, In-service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (ISAVET) and Good Emergency Management Practices (GEMP) among others. These trainings have been instrumental in improving service provision in the livestock sector. The capacity building has resulted in improved early warning and response to hazards reducing livestock productivity and trade.
About the Global Health Security Agenda Project
The FAO USAID Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Project has been operational in Uganda since 2016. It aims to develop capacity for preventing, detecting and responding to Priority Zoonotic Diseases (PZDs) threats. The project is implementing five GHSA action packages namely: Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), Zoonotic Diseases, Biosafety and Biosecurity, National Laboratory System and Human Resource Development (HRD). GHSA is implemented through FAO’s Emergency Center for the Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD).