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Preventing, detecting and responding to transboundary animal diseases

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) cooperates with over 45 FAO member countries to enhance their capacity to manage animal diseases, including high-impact diseases. By helping to avoid national, regional and global spread, the work of ECTAD contributes to the protection of people and animals from disease and other health threats.

Through ECTAD, FAO works to build health systems’ capacities to enable countries and regions to prepare for, detect, prevent and control emerging infectious, zoonotic and transboundary diseases and to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

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Key facts

Presenting ECTAD

Founded in 2004, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) currently represents one of the world’s largest animal health capacity development programmes, supporting the most vulnerable and economically challenged Member Nations.

Transboundary animal diseases (TADs)

Transboundary animal diseases (TADs) are highly contagious or transmissible, epidemic diseases, with the potential to spread rapidly across the globe and to cause substantial socioeconomic consequences.

Animal diseases pose a risk to public health

Each year there are 2.5 billion estimated cases of human illness and approximately 2.7 million human deaths worldwide due to zoonotic diseases.

Global health security is a shared responsibilty

In late 2004, FAO ECTAD joined forces with its partners to forecast, prevent, detect, and respond to disease emergence, and more recently to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Over the past 20 years ECTAD has cooperated with more than 40 partners from the private and public sector globally.

Highlights

Live

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Transforming national animal health systems for 20 years

FAO ECTAD celebrated its 20th anniversary, find out more about the event.

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Supporting the development of stronger animal health systems

Discover ECTAD latest achievements.

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Pulling lifesaving data out of thin air, literally

How a disease surveillance team is preventing zoonotic diseases before they start.

Women vaccinators: driving changes in rural Bangladesh

31/05/2024

In rural Bangladesh, 75 percent of farmers rear poultry in their backyards, mainly women. However, this vital income and protein source faces threats from emerging diseases. In response, FAO implemented the Upazila to Community programme. This ongoing initiative trains female farmers as poultry vaccinators, empowering them with independence and skills.