@FAOGhana/David Youngs

FAO launches first cohort of the Frontline In-Service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (ISAVET)  in Ghana

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched its frontline In-Service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (ISAVET) in Ghana. The first ISAVET cohort is composed of 18 field-level veterinarians and animal health technicians actively involved in animal disease outbreak investigations and epidemiological surveillance from the 16 regions of the country.

FAO and the Veterinary Services Directorate (VSD) have implemented requisite steps towards the rollout of the ISAVET frontline training. These included the establishment of a National Steering Committee, review of needs and readiness assessment (NRA), development of country transition plan, inventory of mentors and trainers and meeting with the Dean of School of Veterinary Medicine, the University of Ghana among others.

The broad goal is to improve the ability of countries to predict, prepare, respond and recover from critical health threats affecting humans and animals at the human-animal-environmental interface.

At the opening ceremony and to launch the 1st Cohort of ISAVET Frontline training, the Eastern Regional Minister Seth Acheampong said, “the government recognizing the shortfall in the numbers of the veterinary workforce will employ veterinarians and para-veterinary professionals to augment the existing number of staff to support the government flagship programme of Rearing for Food and Jobs.”

Patrick Ofori, a representative of the Chief Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, stated that “It was a breakthrough that an applied epidemiology training programme for veterinarians existed for the first time in Africa, and adopted and implemented as a sustainable country-level programme that would take place annually to build the capacity in animal disease surveillance and outbreak investigations”.

FAO’s Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Disease Control (ECTAD) Team Lead in Ghana, Garba Ahmed, affirmed that “ISAVET will foster networking among all stakeholders for better prevention, detection and also strengthen field epidemiology capacity for the animal health sector, as indicated in the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA)”

In the spirit of One Health, the Regional Director of Ghana Health Service said “Disseminating information for all that need to use it is very important, and the ISAVET frontline trained staff should remember to share information with their counterparts in the public health and environmental sectors”

“The ISAVET is similar to the Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training with the School of Public Health, University of Ghana which the Ministry of Health runs for the medical professionals”. He added.

During a four-month training, participants will build capacity for in-service field-level in 8 domains comprised of 14 core competencies to better serve the animal health service needs for preventing and controlling emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) and transboundary animal diseases (TADs) in the country.

 Efficient partnerships ensure ISAVET sustainability

ISAVET is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and it is launched by FAO in collaboration with partners. The first cohort of frontline ISAVET is formally launched by the Directorate of Veterinary Services (VSD) of the Ghana Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA).

The School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Ghana and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology are among its key partners supporting the ISAVET Frontline training. The two Schools of Veterinary Medicine will tailor elements of the ISAVET curriculum to the needs of the country and the region for the delivery of animal health services in the field. The School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Ghana will play a key role in the training, facilitating local adaptation and peer review of the learning objectives and curriculum, as well as mentoring. The African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) will also play a key role in curriculum review, mentoring and quality assurance.

To ensure ISAVET sustainable implementation, FAO involved government ministries in decision-making, ensures that the programme is in partnership with the academic institution, and advocates for ownership of ISAVET at country and regional levels. A multi-stakeholder national workshop was held from 18-19 May 2021 in Accra, Ghana, with the overall objective of gathering information from multi-stakeholders for advocacy dialogue on ISAVET Frontline and to support national consultant for the development of Workforce Strategy for the Veterinary Services Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.