FAO ECTAD regional communication strategy workshop
On 9 to 11 July 2024, FAO ECTAD held a regional workshop to develop a comprehensive communication strategy for the programme. The workshop sought to enhance communication initiatives and align efforts among the 13 FAO ECTAD country offices to achieve greater visibility and impact. By formulating strategic communication plan and identifying mechanisms for improved coordination and collaboration, the workshop produced an initial an initial information of the communication strategy and actionable recommendations to boost the programme’s visibility and advocacy.

Regional workshop on Global Health Security Agenda evaluation
FAO’s Office of Evaluation conducted a workshop in Bangkok to evaluate the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) project. The workshop brought together participants from FAO ECTAD country teams and government partners from Bangladesh, Indonesia and Viet Nam as well as representatives from USAID. The workshop not only shared with us the lessons learned and good practices, but also allowed us to validate them.

USAID progress update meeting
On 2 July 2024, FAO participated in a progress update meeting for USAID Global Health Security (GHS) activities. During the meeting, FAO provided an update on their current activities, including a study to assess the economic impact of antimicrobial resistance and animal rabies in India, the development of Standard Veterinary Treatment Guidelines, conducting an infectious animal disease prioritization exercise and development of communication materials for farm biosecurity. USAID acknowledged its long-standing partnership with FAO in India, highlighting their collaboration on the first GHS activity on antimicrobial resistance in 2014. USAID also commended FAO for being one of the first partner organizations to prepare a detailed work plan for the upcoming financial year 2025, demonstrating proactive planning and commitment to advancing their shared goals.

Strategic planning workshop
From 3 to 5 July 204, FAO and the Bureau of Animal Industry - Animal Disease Diagnosis and Reference Laboratory (BAI-ADDRL) organized a strategic planning workshop for medium-term targets of the ADDRL and the National Veterinary Laboratory Network (NVLN). Funded by USAID, the workshop sought to familiarize participants with the different assessments and evaluation reports as well as to develop a strategic plan to strengthen and enhance the BAI-ADDRL as a national reference laboratory for terrestrial animal diseases and as the technical lead of the NVLN.

Foresight initiative to address climate change implications on livestock and animal health
On 10 July 2024, FAO met with the Director of Food and Agriculture of the Ministry of National Development Planning to discuss a foresight initiative addressing the impact of climate change on livestock and animal health. Under USAID-funded project, the discussion involved multisectoral ministries and the private sector. The initiative aims to look at different future scenarios for sustainable livestock production and animal health and zoonoses risks under the impacts of climate change. The workshop on this mitigating climate change impact on livestock production and zoonotic diseases scheduled to be held in mid-July 2024.

Co-creation workshop conducted with One Health stakeholders
FAO participated in a co-creation workshop to finalize the work plan of the USAID project for 2025. FAO and WHO presented their work plans to government officials in the presence of the USAID country mission. The co-creation workshop was helpful to finalize the work plan for fiscal year 2025.

Private sectors and associations engagement
FAO met PT Superindo on 8 July 2024 to plan public private partnership (PPP) and private sector engagement (PSE) activities to enhance infection PT Superindo affirmed its commitment to improving biosecurity, hygiene, and antimicrobial stewardship among its suppliers to meet government health standards. The collaboration includes roles in needs assessment, training local trainers, as well as monitoring and evaluation in pilot areas across West Java, East Java and Lampung. FAO also engaged with the Indonesian Veterinarian Medicine Association, Indonesian Poultry Veterinarian Association and Indonesian Veterinary Producer Association on 10 July 2024 to reinforce their involvement in PSE initiatives, thanks to USAID for the support.

Zoonotic disease discussion with private sector veterinarians
FAO, through the USAID funding, conducted a workshop in Kathmandu to discuss zoonotic diseases, in collaboration with local veterinary associations. Nearly 25 veterinarians participated in the workshop. The Central Veterinary Laboratory presented the current zoonotic disease situation in the country, following participants experience sharing and challenges of working in the field. The workshop was conducted in collaboration with the Department of Livestock Services, Veterinary Public Health Association Nepal and Veterinary Practitioners Association Nepal.

South Asian epidemiology and laboratory network workshop
FAO and the Government of Bangladesh kicked off a regional workshop on peste des petits ruminants (PPR) monitoring and assessment tool implementation and cross-border harmonization on 11 July 2024. Funded by the European Union, the workshop emphasized the importance of knowledge of PPR eradication strategies and experiences among South Asian countries, the need for increased regional collaboration to eradicate PPR and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)’s readiness to provide a platform to regional countries in the region. This workshop aimed to build technical knowledge and capacities to support National Strategic Plan development and update, focusing on surveillance, establishing a laboratory and epidemiological network, and control of PPR.

Workshop on health situation and surveillance proposal development
As a part of the first module of the Regional Field Epidemiology Training Program for Veterinarians (R-FETPV), with financial support from the United States of America Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), FAO supported organization of a workshop on health situation and surveillance proposal development from 11 to 12 and 19 July 2024. It provided trainees with the opportunity to illustrate the key importance of proposal development, familiarize themselves with theoretical key principles for developing their proposals, understand the content of the core sections of a research proposal, and practice writing and giving an oral presentation of a proposal related to their field epidemiological work.

Regional field epidemiology training programme meeting
FAO along with a senior official from the DLS participated in the animal health/surveillance data analysis proposal development workshop in Pattaya, Thailand from 12 to 13 July 2024. A side meeting was held with the R-FETPV programme team on Nepal’s participation in the programme, the trainees and programme training modalities which could be helpful for Nepal to start its own basic field epidemiology programme.

Refresher training on laboratory mapping tools
From 1 to 4 July 2024, FAO and the Director of Animal Health of the Ministry of Agriculture conducted a refresher training on the FAO Laboratory Mapping Tool (LMT) in Lampung, funded by USAID. This training aimed not only to refresh the knowledge and skills of trained LMT assessors but also to train the next cohort of LMT national assessors and review findings from self-assessments conducted at Disease Investigation Centers (DICs). The sessions underscored the critical need for additional national assessors and emphasized the importance of harmonizing LMT evaluations nationwide. On the side event conducted on 5 July 2024, the participants extensively discussed enhancing laboratory safety measures and optimizing the construction of a new laboratory at DIC Lampung.

Coordination meeting for finalizing guidelines on prevention and control of zoonoses and emerging infectious diseases
FAO and Ministry of Human Development and Cultural Affairs (CMHDCA), organized a meeting to finalize guidelines on the prevention and control of zoonoses and emerging infectious disease (EIDs) from 3 to 4 July 2023, with funding from USAID. This meeting aimed to refine the Indonesia’s Coordination Guidelines for Zoonoses and EIDs Control, incorporate stakeholder feedback and finalize a document for implementation. Presentations and panel sessions addressed various topics ranging from resource utilization, highlighting community-based surveillance and mitigation efforts, to zoonoses and EIDs risk mapping and disaster response synchronization.

Antimicrobial resistance awareness session
FAO organized an AMR awareness session at the United Nations House for staff members of several UN agencies, as part of the fourth edition of the Agrifood Cafe on 5 July 2024. With financial support from USAID, this session featured an interactive quiz and an in-depth presentation. The session focused on the importance of addressing AMR and the collaborative efforts needed to mitigate it. Participants learned about current trends and effective prevention strategies, including the One Health approach that integrates efforts across human, animal and environmental health sectors. The speaker highlighted key challenges and potential solutions, emphasizing the role of awareness and education in mitigating the risks of AMR.

Private sector engagement to combat AMR in the aquaculture sector
FAO, in collaboration with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) India, Marine Products Export Development Authority and the National Food Laboratory-Chennai, organized a private sector engagement workshop to address antimicrobial use in aquaculture farming on 11 July 2024. The session was organized under the European Union (EU) project and welcomed more than 60 participants from the aquaculture industry in India, including feed producers, integrators and processor associations. The discussion emphasized the economic impact of AMR and the regulatory measures for its control in India. The workshop also delved into the current and future roles of the private sector in combating AMR. Additionally, it highlighted the benefits and challenges of public-private partnerships and explored potential pathways for collaboration with relevant stakeholders to effectively address AMR.

Discussing data collection strategies to study AMR economic burden
FAO and the Ministry of Human Development and Cultural Affairs, with funding from the European Union, held a meeting at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) to discuss the data variables necessary for calculating the economic burden of AMR from 1 to 2 July 2024. The discussion focused on data collection strategies in human and animal health sectors. Moving forward, BRIN will initiate data requests to relevant government agencies and private sectors as well as associations and Statistics Indonesia, to facilitate further research and analysis.

Capacity building on African swine fever prevention and control
FAO, GDAHP provincial and district offices and local authorities provided African swine fever (ASF) subnational training, from February to June 2024, reaching a total of 48 provincial veterinarians and 150 district veterinarians from 10 provinces. Funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Republic of Korea, the trainings provided veterinarians with opportunities to ask questions and receive accurate information on detection, prevention and control of ASF, as well as the importance of their role in early reporting.