FAO Representative in Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Kyung-Mee Kim, hosted USAID Lao People’s Democratic Republic Country Representative Michael Ronning on 20 March 2024 in a meeting facilitated by FAO ECTAD. The courtesy visit was organized to strengthen the long-standing collaboration between USAID and FAO and work together to implement the GHSP. This project aims to enhance the multidisciplinary workforce and institutional capacity to address animal and public health threats.

Representatives from public and private laboratories actively participated in the workshop on laboratory assessments and roadmap development organized by FAO and USAID, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Animal Industry (DA BAI) from 12 to 15 March 2024. The workshop began with discussions on the Laboratory Mapping Tool (LMT) core and safety modules, followed by interactive activities on the LMT questionnaire template. Subsequent sessions focused on mapping the local laboratory network and identifying needs for capacity enhancement. This process facilitates international partners in understanding priority needs and developing targeted action plans. In total, 58 participants attended the workshop.

FAO and Viet Nam conclude wildlife facilities assessment for zoonotic risks
FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), with support from United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and European Union (EU) successfully concluded a five-month survey of captive wildlife facilities as part of the Safety across Asia for the Global Environment (SAFE) project, aiming to establish baselines for management and biosecurity practices. The team collectively assessed 44 locations, including captive wildlife facilities, rescue centers, zoos, restaurants and markets. Find the key findings in the article here.

Finalization of ruminant biosecurity guidelines for foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease prevention
FAO and MoA, with the support of the Australian Government, held a meeting to develop an enterprise biosecurity plan for a ruminant farm based on a site-specific risk assessment from 13 to 15 March 2024. During the meeting, all participants from MoA and academia, reviewed the large and small ruminant biosecurity guidelines and gave final inputs. As a follow up, a meeting on the development of biosecurity for ruminant farm modules will take place at the end of March 2024.

Accelerating vaccination to prevent the re-emergence of foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks
FAO and MoA, with support from the Australian Government, has accelerated the vaccination programme against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in eight districts across five provinces. A total of 58 448 livestock including cattle, dairy cows, goats and sheep have been vaccinated through this vaccination programme which ran from 28 February to 10 March 2024. Furthermore, approximately 25 000 farmers received awareness on risk communication through information, education and communication dissemination. The vaccination campaign was expedited before Ramadan to preempt potential losses from increased FMD cases during the holiday season. Read the news here.

As part of ongoing efforts to prevent and control the spread of avian influenza in Cambodia, the General Directorate of Animal Health and Production (GDAHP) and FAO organized a workshop on 19 March 2024, to review avian influenza surveillance in the country. At the workshop, participants reviewed the scope and extent of avian influenza surveillance programmes that are currently being implemented. Laboratory and epidemiology findings were also reviewed along with the development of specific recommendations to improve surveillance and monitoring of avian influenza viruses, while ensuring that different sector and partner actions are complementary. The workshop was funded by USAID.

FAO and MoA, supported by USAID, held an online coordination meeting on strengthening influenza virus surveillance and diagnostics on 21 March 2024. Participants mapped out avian influenza and swine influenza surveillance that had been carried out by Disease Investigation Center (DIC) as well as surveillance plans for the next one year. They also identified the needs and challenges in carrying out the surveillance. FAO support under the GHSP project for detecting avian influenza clade 2.3.4.4b in the coming year will focus on strengthening surveillance in domestic birds, migratory wild birds and swine, align with the global strategy. The meeting concluded with a follow-up note to improve communication and coordination with animal health centres to improve reporting and sampling, as well as to create a special session on Influenza Virus Monitoring (IVM) to discuss Newcastle disease and other major poultry diseases.

FAO participated in a risk analysis workshop for the discovery and exploration of emerging pathogens - viral zoonoses (DEEP VZN), with support from the USAID. Contribution to the discussion included the selection of field sampling sites for the detection of known viruses from three priority viral families (Paramyxoviridae, Coronaviridae and Filoviridae) in humans, animals and the environment. This result may warrant consideration for enhanced surveillance due to higher risk human-animal interfaces and other risk factors for zoonotic spillover and outbreaks.

FAO organized a one-day multisectoral workshop on animal health with a One Health approach on 14 March 2024 in Delhi. The workshop aimed to serve the twin objective of fostering collaboration among experts from diverse sectors to develop and implement integrated projects; and mainstream the private sector in emergency preparedness for livestock and poultry enterprises to promote the well-being of humans, animals, wildlife and environment in India. The event also conceptualized crucial roadmaps for the future, and concluded with renewed commitment to collaborative efforts across sectors to enhance animal health and public health outcomes in India. The meeting welcomed an esteemed gathering of over 60 participants from the animal, human, environment and wildlife sectors, including donor agency, USAID, and private sectors.