About FAO News Multimedia Main topics Statistics Members Publications

Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD)
Asia and the Pacific Region

Cows in Lao DPR

Edition: 10 to 14 April 2023

PARTNERSHIP

India launches Global Health Security Program
©FAO/Dipesh Solanki
INDIA 

India launches Global Health Security Program
The Government of India kicked off the Global Health Security Program (GHSP) on 11 April 2023 with the inception meeting, with participation from senior government officials and key stakeholders. Funded by USAID and implemented by FAO, the five-year programme aims to strengthen India's animal health systems to protect global health and livelihoods from disease threats. In the opening remarks, FAO ECTAD Regional Manager Kachen Wongsathapornchai emphasized that this newly launched programme is built upon a strong foundation of partnership between FAO and India, “The programme will be an opportunity – and a responsibility – to take the role of India in global health security to a new level. FAO stands ready to work with India to further hone disease preparedness and strengthen agrifood systems.”

ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE (AMR)

AMR social media contest winners announced
©fao/JAMES
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC REGION

AMR social media contest winners announced
FAO concluded its AMR social media contest, which ran from September 2022 to January 2023. The contest aimed to crowd-source stories about personal encounters with antimicrobial resistance and/or advocacies on mitigating the spread of AMR. From a total of 38 entries received from around the region, submissions from Indonesia, Myanmar and Pakistan gathered the highest three scores overall. Arman Faries from Indonesia showed his role in helping with the surveillance of AMR as a laboratory technician. Htet Lin Oo, a Myanmar national and student at Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University, told stories of a farmer, a veterinarian and a medical doctor and their AMR encounters. Muhammad Asim Iqbal Butt shared his personal story of his effort to reduce the use of antimicrobials on his farm. Each of them will receive an iPad mini as a prize, thanks to USAID for providing technical and financial support to this initiative.


Survey training for enumerators on antimicrobial use (AMU) on dairy farms
©fao/Gunawan Utomo
INDONESIA
Survey training for enumerators on antimicrobial use (AMU) on dairy farms
Under the antimicrobial stewardship programme, FAO and the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) held a series of activities from 10 to 14 April 2023 to commence interventions to control AMR in the dairy industry, targeting dairy cattle farms in Malang, East Java. The activities include focus group discussions with the provincial and district governments to discuss the detailed plan for conducting AMU and infection, prevention, and control (IPC) surveys in the dairy cattle sector. Five enumerators, which consisted of animal health officers, were trained to conduct the surveys. A comprehensive AMU and IPC survey is critical for effective policymaking, research and implementation of AMR control programmes in the dairy industry because it can provide valuable information on the patterns of AMU in dairy farming, farmers' knowledge and attitudes concerning AMU and the effectiveness of biosecurity measures in controlling bacterial infections. The actual survey will take place in May.


ONE HEALTH

Provincial bridging workshop for rabies in Bali
©FAO/YIN MYO AYE
INDONESIA AND ASIA AND THE PACIFIC REGION
Provincial bridging workshop for rabies in Bali

FAO, WHO, WOAH, Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC), Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI) and German Epidemic Preparedness Team supported the Government of Indonesia in conducting a provincial bridging workshop for rabies in Bali from 12 to 14 April 2023. The methodology of the International Health Regulations and Performance of Veterinary Services (IHR-PVS) National Bridging Workshop (NBW) was adapted to facilitate inter-sectoral collaboration for rabies prevention and control activities. The workshop discussed the current rabies status in Bali, strategies for rabies control, and identified cross-sectoral activities to achieve the “Zero by 2030” global rabies eradication target. The workshop produced several recommendations and follow-ups, including forming a coordinating team for the prevention and control of zoonoses and new infectious diseases in Bali, developing a thematic program for dealing with rabies, and adopting the workshop results in the form of a joint roadmap for rabies elimination as a cross-sectoral work plan. Indonesia is the second country that piloted the NBW on rabies, following Ghana.