OIE Regional Workshop on the World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS)
(New Delhi, India, 18-20 September 2007)
The Workshop was held to provide information on the OIE’s World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS) and train government officials engaged in animal information systems of OIE member countries in SAARC area, and P.R. China and Mongolia.
Eight participants from Bangladesh, Bhutan, P.R. China, India, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, and two observers, one each from India and P.R. China, attended the Workshop.
Welcome addresses were made by Dr Yoshiyuki Oketani, Deputy Regional Representative, OIE Regional Representation for Asia and the Pacific, Tokyo and Dr Karim Ben Jebara, Head, Animal Health Information Department, OIE Headquarters in Paris. After those welcome addresses, an opening address was made by Dr Santanu K. Bandyopadhyay, Animal Husbandry Commissioner, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, India.
Before trainings on immediate notification, follow-up reports, six-monthly reports and annual reports, a presentation was made by Dr Oketani on activities of the OIE Regional Representation for Asia and the Pacific, and Dr Ben Jebara made presentations on the new obligations of Member Countries to notify to the OIE and on the criteria to include a disease in the OIE single list of diseases. Dr Chaisemartin, Head, Administrative and Management Systems Department, OIE Headquarters, explained WAHIS web application.
Each country made a presentation on the existing status of animal disease information/reporting system, including constraints in gathering, processing and dissemination of information, in his/her country.
The training sessions on immediate notification, follow-up reports, six-monthly reports and annual reports were animated by Drs Ben Jebara and Chaisemartin. Participants were requested to check maps of their countries and the names of their first administrative divisions. It was explained that the first administrative divisions to be used in the WAHIS should correspond to the administrative level used by the Veterinary Services in their countries. If the map that is in the WAHIS was not up to date or if other administrative divisions are used by the Veterinary Services, participants were requested to send to the OIE at their earliest convenience of their updated shapefiles of their digital maps to be integrated into the system.
WAHIS web application was presented and participants practiced it by using the WAHIS development system on the General Parameters component, immediate notification, follow-up reports, six-monthly reports and annual reports components.
The Workshop was successfully organized and the participants were encouraged to further train themselves with the WAHIS web application and to send official reports through the official WAHIS system.
- SAARC = South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation