Action on the ground

Animals and humans are living in closer proximity than ever before due to urbanization, deforestation, climate change, population growth, increases in mobility and the intensification of the livestock industry. The link between humans, animals and the surrounding environment is particularly close in developing regions, where poor farming communities raise animals that provide transport, draught power, fuel and clothing, as well as food. Due to the broad reliance on animals, zoonotic diseases can have even wider devastating impacts on these communities. When compounded with poverty, inadequate sanitary standards and lack of resilience, they can quickly wipe out much of the development that a country has achieved. In many developing countries, hunting and the consumption of meat from wild animals is a common cultural practice, contributing a significant portion of daily diets and increasing the risk of zoonotic transmission. Furthermore, by strengthening emergency preparedness and response systems, communities can better manage zoonotic outbreaks and mitigate their impact.

By building capacity to forecast, prevent, detect and respond to disease emergence, FAO is reducing the impact of zoonoses on lives and livelihoods, and helping to stop the emergence and spread of potential epidemics and pandemics at source. The Organization is committed to building resilience to animal and public health threats and emergencies, improving food security and supporting sustainable agriculture, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. FAO Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Disease (ECTAD) works with local and global partners on the ground through various projects and initiatives, as:

FAO Global Health Security Program 2022–2027

While FAO’s global support in the animal health domain has moved countries closer to the goal of effectively dealing with zoonotic disease and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threats, gaps still remain. FAO and USAID have therefore agreed to extend their partnership through the 2022–2027 Global Health Security (GHS) Program.
The FAO GHS Program builds on the investments made over the past 18 years; targets additional countries in Africa and Asia and the Pacific and expands FAO ECTAD's work to Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Near East; and seeks to strengthen partnerships with the private sector. The FAO GHS Program is structured around three intertwined pillars:

• Capacity development - FAO, through a variety of training programmes and tools, is enhancing the individual and institutional capacities of the animal health sector in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to adopt a One Health, multisectoral and interdisciplinary approach, i.e. to design and implement effective detection, prevention and control measures against zoonoses and AMR.

• Technical support for risk mitigation - FAO refines, develops, pilots and implements tools and guidance documents to assist LMIC countries, at national and subnational levels, in identifying and monitoring factors that contribute to the emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases in domestic animals and at the livestock–human–wildlife interface.

• Policy and advocacy support - FAO builds capacity and cooperates with countries to formulate and implement evidence-based policies, plans and strategies that create an enabling environment to effectively operationalize detection, prevention and control measures against zoonoses and AMR. This entails facilitating effective One Health collaboration at national and local level, with both public and private sector actors.
  

FAO Global Stockpile for Emergency Animal Diseases

FAO ECTAD implements the Global Stockpile for Emergency Animal Diseases project. It facilitates a safe and swift response to priority zoonotic disease outbreaks of public health importance around the globe. The rapid availability of diagnostic reagents, laboratory consumables and personal protective equipment supports surge capacities, thereby facilitating the effective implementation of outbreak investigation and initial response activities to contain priority zoonotic diseases. This early response mechanism supported by the project addresses critical surge gaps and gives governments the time to organize a full-scale response. By maintaining sufficient capacity, Member Nations can sustainably cover country-level surveillance.

Stockpile items are stored in FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, at the Joint FAO/International Atomic Energy Agency Centre (Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture) Animal Production and Health Laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria, and the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and dispatched to beneficiary countries as a first means of support following an outbreak and when requested by the national authorities.

Emergency Response Capabilities Development

FAO plays a vital role in enhancing countries' preparedness and response capacity to mitigate the impact of animal health emergencies, which can jeopardize livelihoods and food security, particularly in lower-income countries with vulnerable infrastructures. FAO ECTAD collaborates with Member Countries to establish a state of readiness for managing operations during such emergencies. This involves developing specific capabilities at the country level, including:

• legal frameworks;
• partnerships and agreements;
• emergency response structures and systems; 
• emergency operations centres;
• emergency operation plans and supporting procedures; and
• systems to support emergency operations.