FAO presented its work and commitments supporting ASEAN in strengthening regional coordination to address animal and zoonotic diseases during the 31st ASEAN Sectoral Working Group on Livestock (ASWGL) meeting in the Philippines from 5 to 7 July 2023. The interventions are listed under the FAO-ASEAN Collaborative Plan of Action, which links and contributes to implementing the ASWGL Plan of Action 2021-2025. At the same time, FAO provided updates on the progress of the Strengthening Mechanisms in Animal-health for a Resilient ASEAN (SMART-ASEAN) project, including its commitment to expediting the establishment of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Animal Health and Zoonoses with funding support from the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The 31st ASWGL meeting served as an avenue to conduct an annual review of the current livestock situation, including cooperation in mitigating the risks of high-impact animal diseases, including zoonotic diseases, in the region.

FAO, together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), participated in the third Safety Across Asia for the Global Environment (SAFE) project steering committee meeting on 12 July 2023. The meeting discussed the achievements and challenges of the project during its second year of implementation and agreed on the ways forward as laid out in the year three work plan. The European Union, the resource partner of the project, presided over the meeting.  

FAO recently expanded a community of practice (CoP) on antimicrobial treatment guidelines to a CoP on prudent antimicrobial use in animals.  This broader community is open to those who would like to be part of a supporting environment that fosters and reinforces the practice of prudent antimicrobial use in animals in the region. With the expansion of the CoP, a WhatsApp community was also created to enable real-time exchange of information and technical discussions, propose topics of interest for the Members of the Community, or for sharing/receiving of relevant information on prudent antimicrobial use in animals. The CoP also meets virtually every month, please feel free to join the group by clicking the WhatsApp link or sending an email to [email protected].

Early this year, FAO, through USAID funding, sought expressions of interest from labs in the region to participate in the multi-centre retrospective study on antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Enterococcus spp. using the regionally customized broth microdilution plates (ASEN plates). A total of 20 laboratories signified their interest to participate, and selection criteria were set in consultation with the FAO Reference Centre for AMR, Chulalongkorn University, to ensure that the existing isolates to be tested adhere to the prescribed protocols as per the regional guideline.

Considering the gaps and needs identified, the plan was revised to carry out the study in phases. Laboratories that meet the criteria will be included in the initial stage, while capacity building will be offered to the remaining laboratories. Regional training on isolation, identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) for Enterococcus spp. will therefore be organized and provided to these laboratories. A regional research network will also be established to serve as a platform for further exchange, mentoring and coordination on enterococci AST.

FAO conducted a 2-day training on sample collection, dispatch and epidemiological reporting at the veterinary laboratory in Pokhara from 3 to 4 July 2023. Thanks to USAID, 21 animal health technicians working in the livestock services section from various municipalities in Gandaki Province participated in the training. The Provincial Secretary of the Ministry of Land Management and Agriculture of Gandaki Province, Sahadev Prasad Humagain, distributed the necessary supplies required for sample collection at the field level to the participating municipalities. The training was conducted with Pokhara's Department of Livestock Services and Veterinary Laboratory.

FAO and the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), with the support of USAID< conducted an advocacy meeting to discuss using village funds to support the rabies control and elimination programme in Livestock and Animal Health Services of Timor Tengah Selatan district from 10 to 14 July 2023. This meeting emphasized the previous success of using village funds to support zoonoses control in other provinces. The heads of villages and sub-districts who attended this meeting agreed to use the village fund to help with rabies control through community engagement, such as capacity building for cadres, training on early reporting for bite cases, increasing public awareness and supporting vaccination. On this occasion, MoA and FAO trained 25 cadres from five villages, including youth representatives, community leaders, police, and military officers, to assist the local officials with rabies vaccination, information, education and communication (IEC) materials dissemination and first aid for bitten cases. The initiatives will be expanded to include other communities shortly. The director of Veterinary Public Health, five heads of sub-districts and five chiefs of villages from Timor Tengah Selatan district, a representative of East Nusa Tenggara Agriculture Quarantine, a representative of East Nusa Tenggara Livestock Services, and other relevant local authorities took part in the meeting.

FAO continued its pedagogy training programme at Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Science University from 10 to 13 July 2023, with technical assistance from the Bangladesh Veterinary Pedagogy Forum (BVPF) and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. The training sought to disseminate the pedagogy expertise from participants to other colleagues, which is expected to play a pivotal role in ensuring good teaching practices at veterinary schools in Bangladesh and producing competent veterinary graduates. Over the years, FAO has trained 48 faculties from different veterinary schools on disease control and pedagogy in collaboration with Tufts University and Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, funded by USAID.