FAO conducts online training to strengthen Ukrainian veterinarians’ preparedness for avian influenza
350 veterinarianscompleted the course in Ukrainian on FAO Virtual Learning Center
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently conducted a four-week online training course on avian influenza preparedness in Ukrainian, where 350 veterinarians were enrolled. The course was conducted through the FAO Virtual Learning Center (VLC) for Europe and Central Asia and implemented as part of an emergency Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) project that aims to improve preparedness, prevention, early detection and rapid response against avian influenza in Ukraine.
“Avian influenza, often referred to as bird flu, is spreading throughout the world, having a wide-ranging impact on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and poultry keepers, as well as on regional and international trade, food safety, and public health," said Daniel Beltran-Alcrudo, FAO technical advisor on animal health. “Recently, we’ve realized that, even with continuous training, we cannot meet the rising demand of both infected and at-risk countries, and developing an online course can support all the veterinarians interested in the topic.”
The course materials were developed jointly by a team of experts from FAO and the Friedrich-Loeffler Institute in Germany. The course was piloted for the first time in early 2022, with participants from 98 countries across six continents.
“The 12-hour course is studied entirely online which offers a huge advantage compared to conventional face-to-face training sessions. This format requires only a stable internet connection, and is cost-effective to scale up, reaching people in remote locations who can then learn at their own pace. Up to 500 participants could take the course at the same time,” said Gulzhan Nurtazina, the FAO VLC Manager for Europe and Central Asia.
In 2023, the course has been translated into Ukrainian and tailored to country needs. The Ukrainian course ran from 21 March to 25 April with above 350 registered participants, including both official and private veterinarians who are directly involved in diagnosing, investigating and responding to an outbreak of avian influenza. The course received high satisfaction ratings from 95 percent of participants who found it highly relevant to their current jobs.
"This course is very important in terms of educating first responders in order to enable early warning, risk reduction, and management of avian influenza outbreaks through building knowledge and skills in the detection, prevention and response to disease outbreaks.” said Andrii Pavlenko, FAO's Coordinator of the Avian Influenza Preparedness Course in Ukraine.
The impact of the course will support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by reducing the socioeconomic and public health impact of avian influenza, securing livelihoods, improving food security and food safety, and increasing productivity in the poultry sector.
Avian influenza in Ukraine
In total, there are six bird migration routes in the world, and three of them pass through Ukraine, meaning that the country has an increased risks of cross-border spread of infectious diseases. According to official data, the last outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5) in Ukraine occurred on 12 December 2021, in a non-commercial backyard in Khersonska oblast.
Khersonska, Chernihivska, and Sumska oblasts are the places of nesting sites of migratory birds, where state monitoring for the presence of avian influenza was constantly carried out. Due to the war, it is difficult to reach the locations of nesting sites.
Despite this, Ukrainian poultry breeders and veterinarians keep carrying out vaccination measures regularly in accordance with the plans of the State Service of Ukraine on food safety and consumer protection, and following the agreement with the competent authority.
In May–June 2023, FAO will audit 50 Ukrainian enterprises engaged in poultry farming, whether they observe biosecurity, and provide physical training on how to increase the level of biosecurity.
About the FAO VLCs
The FAO VLCs are virtual hubs that have been conceived as a mechanism to improve regional delivery of online training and to convey the competencies required to organize and deliver online training to FAO regional and subregional offices. Their mission is to provide trainees with access to inclusive, engaging, and high-quality training using a variety of methodologies such as online tutored courses, blended learning, technical webinars and mobile learning. Using communication technology and instructional design, the VLCs develop courses that readily respond to regional needs and priorities and fill knowledge gaps identified in a variety of topics.
