The Third ASEAN Workshop on HPAI Control and Eradication organized in collaboration with ADB, FAO, OIE and Department of Agriculture of the Philippines
(Manila, Philippines, 28 -30 August 2007)
The Workshop was attended by 68 participants from national governments in ASEAN 10 countries; namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam (basically two participants from the animal health sector and one from the public health sector, from each participating country), and International and Regional Organizations such as Asian Development Bank (ADB), Academy for Educational Development (AED), AusAID, FAO, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), OIE, UNICEF, WHO, ASEAN +3 EID Programme and ASEAN Secretariat.
The Workshop aimed at covering two technical topics of “Establishment of AI-free Zones and Compartments” to establish such the zones and compartments fulfilling OIE Standards and “Public awareness and Communication” to ensure that the general public is well informed on the disease, and actions are taken by the responsible authorities. Those two areas are under the ASEAN programme on HPAI Prevention and Control which has 8 components developed in collaboration with OIE and FAO.
Opening remarks were made by Mr R. Cordenillo, ASEAN Secretariat AI Coordinator, Dr J. Jeugmans, Practice Leader (Health), ADB, Mr. K. Tsurumi, FAO Representative of the Philippines, Dr Teruhide Fujita, OIE Regional Representative, and H.E. Mr Dennis Araullo, Assistant Secretary, Deparment of Agriculture, the Philippines.
The presentations on (1) The OIE Concepts and Guidelines on Zoning and Compartmentalization, (2) Practical Implementation of Zoning and Compartmentalization, (3) Outcome of the FAO-OIE Communications Conference in Rome were presented by the OIE speakers (Dr Alex Thiermann, President, Terrestrial Code Commission, and Dr Cristianne Bruschke, Avian Influenza Focal Point of the OIE), and Dr Emar Gemmeke, Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, the Netherlands spoke about Compartmentalization (from EU points of view). The presentations on public awareness and communications were also made by FAO, UNICEF and AED.
From ASEAN Member Countries, Dr Kamarudin Md Isa, Malaysia and Chair of ASEAN HPAI Task Force, discussed Disease Free Zoning Experiences of Malaysia, with an example of the export of poultry to Singapore, and Dr Samuel B. Animas, Philippines, reported the result of KAP surveys conducted in the Philippines.
After the plenary session, all members of the workshop joined separately two different working groups on (1) Establishment of AI Free zones and Compartments and (2) Public Awareness and Communication.
<WORKING GROUP 1: ESTABLISHMENT OF AI FREE ZONES AND COMPARTMENTS>
Stock-taking – General Regional Situations/Gaps:
All Member Countries are aware of OIE guidelines and standards and implementing zoning for disease control and eradication. Some Member Countries are moving towards compartmentalisation for disease control and eradication and trade.
Within ASEAN there are variations in the level of implementation of the OIE guidelines and standards on zoning and compartmentalisation.
There are variations in the level of understanding of the concept and implementation of biosecurity measures in disease control and eradication.
Variation in the level of private-public sector partnerships currently limits adequate implementation of compartmentalisation
Recommendations:
- Member Countries to actively pursue zoning and compartmentalisation, when applicable and appropriate
- To conduct an economic study (cost-benefit) on zoning and compartmentalisation in relation to trade and disease control
- Strengthen capacity building in areas of veterinary services, laboratory diagnosis, infrastructure, etc. to enhance implementation of zoning and compartmentalisation.
- Establish ASEAN network on zoning and compartmentalisation for sharing of experiences on the implementation of concepts.
- Capacity building on formulating and implementing biosecurity measures and assessment of its implementation.
- Enhance communication and trust between veterinary authority and the private sector in order to strengthen private-public sector partnerships
<Working Group 2: Public Awareness and Communication >
Stock-taking – General Regional Situations/Gaps:
ASEAN Member Countries (AMCs) have their national communication plans and Information-Education-Communication (IEC) activities in place and are closely collaborating with FAO, UNICEF, WHO, OIE and other international organizations and NGOs in improving and implementing these. However, some of the activities may not be well monitored or evaluated; assessment of effectiveness of plans may not be accurate. There is a need to have more stakeholder / audience-specific and focused IEC activities, inducing positive behavioral changes and long term community and multi-sectoral participation/cooperation.
There are still AMCs where lack of resources, particularly transportation is hindering implementation of the public awareness plan, e.g. distribution of IEC materials and lack of training.
The various stakeholders / audiences are not clearly identified and are being addressed in varying degrees/priorities. The breadth and scope of reach of the public awareness programs need to be determined.
Knowledge-Attitude-Practices (KAP) surveys have been conducted in most AMCs. KAP surveys are important to determine the baseline and for assessment of the effectiveness of approaches and impacts of various developments and situations.
Depending on countries, there are different levels of centralization/decentralization of public awareness activities as well collaboration between the various sectors, e.g. between the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries.
The four-stage process for public awareness such as used by UNICEF (i.e. grabbing attention, providing credible information, encouraging dialogue and unlocking behaviour change) is recognized as relevant reference for countries’ PA approaches.
There is a need to balance information going out to prevent complacency and at the same time not cause unnecessary alarm/anxiety.
AMCs acknowledged that pre-testing IEC materials is important for effective public awareness but this may not happen on-the-ground.
Recommendations:
- AMCs need to focus more on capacity development, including training and implement communication/public awareness activities for sustained behaviour change.
- AMCs need to strengthen national monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for implementation of public awareness and communication plans;
- There is a need for research to understand cultural practices, gender analysis and incentives for behaviour change to influence evidence-based policy and programmes including national communication plans.
- AMCs to mobilize available resources, including those from the private sector.
- AMCs need to identify all stakeholders / audiences (including high risk groups) and develop IEC approaches that address all the specific audiences. AMCs could strengthen cooperation with international agencies & organizations to facilitate the process.
- AMCs to update IEC guidelines and checklists based on results of KAP surveys, with inputs from all relevant sectors.
- Establish cross-sectoral communication networking (Taskforce/Working Group, as appropriate), within respective AMCs and with clear mandates and Terms of Reference, e.g. cooperation among all sectors. Respective AMCs would also establish mechanisms to facilitate coordinated IEC campaigns including strengthening of legislative frameworks.
- Formulate an “IEC Best Practice” model/ template in collaboration with key players in communication that incorporates effective grassroots participatory approaches using experiences gained from ASEAN Member Countries. All AMCs should ensure that balanced information reaches the right people at the right time, recognizing information needs are different before, during and after outbreaks.
- AMCs should continuously improve communication materials through pre-testing and distributing the right IEC materials (with technically sound consistent and practical messages) to the right people at the right time before full implementation. IEC materials should also be periodically reviewed and adjusted as necessary.
As the conclusions of the 1st, 2nd and the 3rd Workshop, the meeting emphasised the following 5 programmes/activities at the regional level.
- Strengthen regional cooperation through sustained coordination and partnership with stakeholders
- Regional arrangements adopted at Ministerial level including long term sustainability through ASEAN Animal Health Trust Fund
- Develop short-, mid- and long-term strategies to eradicate HPAI, taking into the regional and global strategy; e.g. GF-TADs Regional Mechanism
- Enhancing capacity and capability; e.g. sharing experience through training workshops, country visits, etc.
- Research and Development; vaccines and vaccination, economic studies, epidemiology, market chain study, poultry movement control, etc.