1.1. Introduction
1.2. Opening address
The Emergency Prevention System (EMPRES) for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases is a concept, first raised at an FAO Council in 1994, which addresses pests and diseases with serious impact on food security. This concept was endorsed by the World Food Summit in 1996, through Commitment 3 of the Rome Declaration on World Food Security-The World Food Summit Plan of Action.
Objective 3.1. of the Plan of Action states that
"governments, in partnership with all actors of civil society, and with the support of international institutions, will, as appropriate seek to ensure effective prevention and progressive control of plant and animal diseases, including especially those which are of transboundary nature, such as rinderpest... ".
This Commitment was in response to the awareness by the Heads of State and Government of the actual and potential impact of these diseases upon livestock. The diseases which are transboundary in nature are the principle concern of FAO and are the target of its current strategy for assuring food security. The mandate is to establish emergency prevention systems for transboundary animal and plant pests and diseases. The animal disease component is designed to; "promote the effective containment and control of the most serious epidemic livestock diseases as well as emerging diseases, by progressive elimination on a regional and global basis, through international co-operation involving early warning, rapid reaction, enabling research and co-ordination".
The first EMPRES Expert Consultation, held in 1996, identified the target diseases as those of strategic importance, those requiring tactical attention and those evolving or emerging diseases. Of the first group, rinderpest was considered to be the most important. The principal thrust for EMPRES since its inception has been to promote the global eradication of rinderpest. EMPRES has played a major role in defining the plans and strategies by which this may be achieved and developed a 'Blueprint' for its final eradication by the year 2010.
The Expert Consultation which took place 14-16 July, 1997 addressed the following issues;
· the implications of the Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the World Food Summit Plan of Action,· the development of national and regional capacity to implement the EMPRES principles for the eradication of rinderpest and control of other transboundary diseases,
· the progress of the GREP in Asia and Africa,
· guidelines on cessation of vaccination and the achievement of sustainable and verifiable freedom from rinderpest,
· review of the OIE Pathway and chapter on rinderpest in the OIE International Animal Health Code.
The Expert Consultation was officially opened by Dr A. Sawadogo, FAO Assistant Director-General, Agriculture Department. The welcoming address was given by Dr T Fujita, FAO Director of the Animal Production and Health Division, the text of which was as follows;
Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to be with you this morning in opening this second EMPRES-Livestock Expert Consultation. Welcome to FAO headquarters and thank you for taking time from your busy schedules and travelling here to attend this important session.
Last year's Technical and Expert Consultations focused on a terrible plague of cattle in the developing world, rinderpest. These consultations entitled "The World Without Rinderpest", yielded a blueprint for global eradication of this disease by 2010. Many of you participated and helped us to define better the concept for EMPRES and the strategy for defining transboundary animal diseases of concern to EMPRES. You wished that the issues of transboundary animal diseases in general and rinderpest eradication in particular be given the necessary political support through the World Food Summit.
I am pleased to note that The World Food Summit held here at FAO headquarters in November of 1996 did fulfil this recommendation. The Summit crystallised FAO's commitment and focus to securing food for all. Epidemics of rinderpest threaten stable food production in developing areas of the world. The FAO has maintained the primary role of co-ordinating the global eradication of this dreaded disease.
After the Summit, the Director-General has instructed all Technical Divisions, including AGA, to examine their activities in the light of the World Food Summit Plan of Action. He has further singled out the Special Programme on Food Security and EMPRES as issues which should have overriding importance in the FAO global programme. To reflect this desire, FAO's Livestock Programme has been restructured for the coming 1998/99 biennium. This Programme, which is to be implemented through two Services - the Animal Health and Animal Production Services - now has four main domains. The first domain deals with livestock policies including veterinary services. The second deals with livestock production systems including animal health in three farming systems: mixed, peri-urban, and pastoral. The farming systems approach should make our sub-programmes relevant to the Special Programme on Food Security. This Special Programme has a livestock component which lays particular emphasis on the role of the short-cycle livestock, like small ruminants, pigs and poultry. The third domain deals with the animal genetic resources. The fourth domain deals with Transboundary Animal Diseases, the subject of this Expert Consultation.
I look forward to your deliberations and recommendations on how EMPRES activities can enhance the implementation of the Commitments of the World Food Summit.
This year, two major themes for the Expert Consultation are planned. The themes follow the intent of last year's technical and expert consultation, namely, to eradicate rinderpest from the world. Your chairman and the secretariat have selected the theme for rinderpest which is entitled "management of the transition from vaccination to a sustainable and verifiable freedom from rinderpest". I believe that this will enable you to discuss one of the concerns of the Summit, namely the effective prevention and progressive control of transboundary animal diseases. Member Countries that are involved in the GREP and regional organisations, such as the OAU/IBAR, that are involved in co-ordinating regional programmes, like PARC, look to the guidelines to be provided through this Expert Consultation. They seek to know how to consolidate gains achieved in rinderpest control, without significant reversal of such gains, until the objective of global eradication is attained by the year 2010.
The second theme notes the need for emergency preparedness and watchfulness at the farm and national levels for rinderpest and other epidemic diseases.. This theme is entitled "Developing EMPRES-Livestock at the national level". As a former Chief Veterinary Officer for my country, Japan, I am well aware of the difficulties in convincing the national treasury to finance a veterinary 'standing army' in the absence of epidemic diseases. I am also aware how much more difficult it must be for national veterinary services of developing countries to convince their national authorities to finance the effective prevention and progressive control of epidemic disease, which may be relatively rare, against the background of immediate needs of visible deficiencies in social and agricultural systems.
Yet we all know that sustained livestock production and trade in livestock and livestock products are practically impossible in the presence of epidemic diseases. These diseases contribute to banishing many areas of the world to subsistence livestock farming and thus to poverty. We in FAO look forward to your deep analysis of the impact of transboundary animal diseases and your recommendations to Member Countries and to FAO on how to promote the EMPRES concepts at national, regional and global level in a way that will lead to sustained economic livestock production, reduction in hunger and poverty.
Ladies and gentlemen, the task before you is important yet complex and difficult, especially given the short time you have for deliberations. I wish you well in the consultation. FAO looks forward to working with you at this Expert Consultation and in the future.
