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Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD)
Asia and the Pacific Region

Cows in Lao DPR

Edition: 20 to 24 March 2023

LABORATORY

©FAO/Le Thi Dung
VIET NAM AND ASIA AND THE PACIFIC REGION
Better surveillance network for better animal health management

In collaboration with the Viet Nam Department of Animal Health, FAO organized the Nineteenth Epidemiology and Laboratory (Epi-Labnet) network meeting from 15 to 17 March 2023 to further improve veterinary field epidemiology and laboratory diagnostic capacities in the country. Funded by USAID, the meeting brought together epidemiologists, laboratory diagnosticians and experts from seven regional animal health offices, the national centre for veterinary diagnosis and development partners. The meeting identified the need for a legal basis for proficiency testing, a general system for managing laboratories, programs for interlaboratory comparison and laboratory evaluation, reference laboratories and training programs for epidemiologists and laboratory diagnosticians as their priorities. The meeting also agreed to report active surveillance results through Viet Nam Animal Health Information System (VAHIS) by June 2023. Read more HERE.

AFRICAN SWINE FEVER (ASF)

©FAO/Eojin Son
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC REGION

ASF prevention and control strategy for ASEAN
FAO met with the World Organisation for Animal Health Sub-Regional Representation for Southeast Asia on 21 March 2023 to fine-tune the draft ASEAN ASF Prevention and Control Strategy for 2023-28. This strategy aims to achieve regional control of ASF, reducing the adverse impact of ASF on the domestic pig sector and wild pig population in Southeast Asia through multi-stakeholder cooperation and promotion of collaboration amongst the ASEAN Member States. The development of the Regional ASF Strategy for ASEAN is supported under the Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADs) umbrella.


PARTNERSHIP

Collaboration meeting with FAO in the Philippines
©FAO/Joy Masongsong
THE PHILIPPINES AND ASIA AND THE PACIFIC REGION

Collaboration meeting with FAO in the Philippines
With the growing portfolio of animal health-related projects in the Philippines, a meeting was held between FAO ECTAD and FAO in the Philippines on 16 March 2023. Representatives from FAO ECTAD RAP and the Philippines discussed with the Assistant Representation for Programme of FAO in the Philippines, Tamara Palis-Duran, how to synergize the implementation of different projects focused on supporting the prevention and control of transboundary animal diseases and emerging infectious diseases, supported by FAO in the Philippines. The projects discussed included the Global Health Security Program project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), two ASF projects funded by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Republic of Korea (ROK), and the Strengthening Mechanisms in Animal-health for a Resilient ASEAN (SMART-ASEAN) project funded by Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).