FAO continues strengthening Livestock Disease Surveillance in the Gambia -Second Training Workshop on the Use and Application of EMA-i+ and EMPRES-i+
Second Training Workshop on the Use and Application of EMA-i+ and EMPRES-i+
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) hosted the Second Training Workshop on the Use and Application of Event Mobile Application (EMA-i+) and EMPRES Global Animal Disease Information System (EMPRES-i+) from February 19 to 23 March 2024.
Livestock disease surveillance plays a crucial role in providing early warnings of disease events, assessing intervention effectiveness, and establishing disease-free areas. In line with this, FAO, through its Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), introduced the Event Mobile Application (EMAi+) during a training workshop in 2023, aimed at facilitating real-time disease reporting and improving the quality and quantity of reports.
The adoption of electronic systems for data collection, management, analysis, and reporting is set to enhance veterinary service capacities in disease surveillance, particularly in the field. This initiative has significantly increased the number of reports received from field veterinarians and paraprofessionals while fostering improved connectivity in sharing epidemiological information across districts, regions, and the national government.
Comprehensive Training Workshop on EMA-i+ and EMPRES-i+
The Second Training Workshop was divided into two components. The first two days, from 19 to 20 February 2024, were dedicated to refresher training for selected National Trainers who were earlier trained on EMA-i+ and EMPRES-i+ in October 2023. The remaining three days, from 21 to 23 February 2024, were for the National Trainers to train new users on EMA-i+ under the supervision of the FAO Regional team.
Serving as a follow-up to the initial training conducted in November 2023, these sessions will focus on training national trainers and individuals from six Agricultural Regions who did not participate in the previous session. The practical exercises enabled participants to master the application effectively.
The workshop hosted a total of 60 participants, including 15 staff members of the Department of Livestock Service who were trained as national trainers, and 35 field-based EMA-i+ and EMPRES-i+ users from the six Agricultural Regions.
The FAO's Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) plays a pivotal role in supporting this initiative, providing technical expertise and guidance to ensure its success. This activity is implemented by FAO ECTAD, with funding from the United Kingdom Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (UK DEFRA).