Coordination Meetings : HPAI

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Second FAO/OIE Joint Steering Committee Meeting (Bangkok, 13-14 December 2006)

Summary of the Proceedings

The Second Joint Steering Committee Meeting for the Japan Special Trust Fund Programme for HPAI Control at Source in Southeast Asia took place in Bangkok on 13 and 14 December, 2006. It was co-chaired by Dr Shiro Yoshimura of OIE and Dr Laurence Gleeson of FAO ECTAD RAP, and attended by representatives from Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and counterpart agencies of the eight participating countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) as well as those from ASEAN Secretariat and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

As per the Terms of Reference, the Second Joint Steering Committee Meeting: (1) reviewed progress and future work plans of the two Projects under the Special Trust Fund; (2) discussed matters related to implementation to enhance further cooperation and coordination between the two Projects; and (3) shared HPAI related information. The following sections summarize the presentations and discussions.

1. Reports on the Progress and Work Plans

OIE and FAO presented Project outlines, progresses achieved to date and future work plans.

1.1. Outline and Status of the OIE Project

OIE Project aims at strengthening the capacity of veterinary services at the regional and national levels to control HPAI, and comprises four components:

  1. Regional and national HPAI control strategies;
  2. Information and regional early warning systems;
  3. Diagnostic capacity (training courses and provision of high performance diagnostic equipments); and
  4. Training courses for field veterinarians and paraprofessionals.

Implementation proceeded according to the plan for Components 1 and 2. For Component 3, although disbursement of the fund to procure laboratory equipment can be made by March, installment of some equipments and training of laboratory technicians may not be completed by the time of the Project closure.

1.2. Outline and Status of the FAO Project

The main objective of the FAO Project is to control highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the Southeast Asian sub-region and contribute towards international efforts to progressively control HPAI in Asia. In line with the FAO's regional HPAI strategy, the Project activities are organised according to the following nine components:

  1. Preventing incursion of disease;
  2. Emergency preparedness and rapid response;
  3. Endemic diseases control;
  4. Applied research;
  5. Socio-economic aspects of disease control and production systems;
  6. Public awareness and communication;
  7. Strategy development, national coordination and project management;
  8. Partnerships; and
  9. Policy and legislation.
1.3. Country Progress Reports and Work Plans

For each of the eight participating countries, detailed reports on the status of country-level Project activities and future work plans were presented. OIE presented plans to upgrade laboratory capacity for each country, and asked for counterpart agencies' continuous cooperation with regards to equipment procurement. FAO Chief Technical Advisors (CTAs) and their national counterparts presented achievements and detailed work plans for each of the nine components.

Country participants expressed difficulties to complete all the proposed activities by the end of March due to initially unexpected and unavoidable constraints, and expressed their wishes for extension in the interests of achieving quality outputs. Additional periods proposed vary by country, but extension up to December 2007 is considered sufficient at the Project level.

2. Updates on Efforts to Combat HPAI Globally and in the Region

Presentations by Dr Alain Dehove of OIE and Dr Joseph Domenech of FAO focused on the respective agencies' efforts to combat HPAI on the global scale. References were made to the discussions and outcomes of the recent International Conference on Avian Influenza in Bamako, Mali.

Dr Masao Sasaki from a JICA project on animal disease control in the region introduced the outline and achievements of the five-year project.

Two presentations were made by FAO staff: one on Participatory Disease Surveillance/Response (PDS/R) and the other on effective communication strategies for HPAI control.

3. Conclusions

  • Participants reaffirmed that the Japan Special Trust Fund Programme is an essential vehicle for effective control of HPAI at source in the region.
  • Both OIE and FAO appreciate the excellent cooperation from the participating countries and were reassured such cooperation will continue until the end of the Projects.
  • Much progress has been made in implementation of both OIE and FAO Projects. However, due to some unexpected and unavoidable constraints, extension of closing date beyond March 2007 is considered desirable for successful implementation of all the proposed activities in a satisfactory and high quality manner.