USAID and FAO partnership: pre-empting the next global pandemic

A United States-FAO partnership working to strengthen the capacity of developing countries to manage outbreaks of diseases in farm animals has in just 12 months succeeded in training over 5 300 veterinary health professionals in 25 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The FAO-provided technical trainings covered a gamut of key competencies, including disease surveillance and forecasting, laboratory operations, biosafety and biosecurity, prevention and control methods and outbreak response strategies. All told, 4 101 vets in Asia, 707 in West Africa, 341 in East Asia and 175 in the Middle East benefitted (full list follows).