OIE appoints new OIE Sub-Regional Representative for eastern Africa.
Dr. Walter Masiga
In view of the establishment of the new OIE Sub-Regional Representation for Eastern and the Horn of Africa, the OIE has appointed Dr. Walter Masiga as OIE Sub-Regional Representative. Dr Masiga, a Kenyan veterinarian who is well known throughout Africa, gained international recognition as Director of the Muguga laboratories and thereafter as Director of the African Union's Inter-african Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) during which he supervised the implementation of the Pan-African Rinderpest Campaign (PARC) and thereafter the Pan-African programme for the Control of Epizootics (PACE), leading the eradication of rinderpest from Africa .
The new OIE Sub-Regional Representative made his first public appearance during the regional information seminar for newly appointed OIE Delegates, which was held in Gaborone, Botswana from March 9 - 12th, 2010. In the coming weeks and months, Dr Masiga will be tasked with setting up the office in Nairobi (Kenya), recruiting staff and commence the roll-out of the OIE programme in this part of Africa, which includes Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Walter Masiga can be contacted at : w.masiga@oie.int
New OIE technical disease cards online
The Collaboration among scientists from OIE Reference Laboratories around the world and other relevant experts has led to an updated compilation of 33 technical disease cards, including 32 OIE-listed (terrestrial) priority diseases such as foot and mouth disease, highly pathogenic avian influenza, rift valley fever and bluetongue. The update was possible thanks to a much appreciated support from USDA-APHIS (USA).
picture (c) P. Bastiaensen (1995)
The cards, which are currently only available in English, are mainly directed to a specialised scientific audience and as such represent OIE’s constant effort for scientific excellence. In the coming months the OIE intends to publish an illustrated “Atlas of Transboundary Animal Diseases” which will be based on the work already finalised and will be completed with a major addition of technical disease specific pictures More...
Inauguration of the new OIE Sub-Regional Representation in Tunis
picture (c) OIE (2010)
On Tuesday, January 26, 2010, the Director General of the OIE, Dr Bernard Vallat and the Tunisian Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, Mr Mansour Abdessalam inaugurated the OIE offices in Tunis in the presence of OIE Delegates, Heads of Veterinary Services of countries of North Africa (Algeria, Mauritania, Libya and Tunisia; Morocco was represented by the Director of Animal Health) and of southern Europe (France, Italy, Portugal and Spain).
The Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources of the African Union (AU-IBAR) and FAO were also present as well as the main African, Euro-Arab and Tunisian institutions and veterinary associations. About 80 people attended the conference presentation of the OIE during which the Director General of the OIE delivered, on behalf of the 175 Member Countries of the OIE, a speech in which he warmly thanked the Tunisian Government including the Ministry of Agriculture, which provides OIE with a building to host this new representation More...
The OIE launches a new portal on pandemic type A influenza H1N1
Recent outbreaks in Africa (as notified to the OIE)
21/02/2010 South Africa : Rift Valley Fever 16/02/2010 Ghana : African horse sickness
12/02/2010 Madagascar : Varroosis of honey bees
03/02/2010 Algeria : Bluetongue (BTV-4)
17/12/2009 Tunisia : Bluetongue (BTV-4)
15/12/2009 South Africa : Equine Rhinopneumonia
02/11/2009 Morocco : Bluetongue (BTV-4)
26/10/2009 South Africa : Rift Valley Fever
22/10/2009 Tunisia : Bluetongue (BTV-1)
20/10/2009 Mauritius : Contagious Caprine Pleuro-Pneumonia
18/10/2009 Malawi : Foot and mouth disease
30/09/2009 Morocco : Bluetongue (BTV-1)
18/02/2010 Mali : Dr Abdel Kader Diarra
03/11/2009 Madagascar : Dr Lanto Tiana Razafimanantsoa
09/07/2009 C.A.R : Dr Emmanuel Namkoisse
05/06/2009 Botswana : Dr Kgoseitsile Phillemon-Motsu
04/05/2009 Niger : Dr Mahamadou Saley
15/04/2009 Swaziland : Dr Roland X. Dlamini
17/03/2009 Somalia : Dr Habiba Sheikh Hassan Hamud
16/03/2009 Angola : Dr José Antonio
13/02/2009 Gabon : Dr Morgan Bignoumba
With the signature of 3 agreements between OIE and FAO in February 2009, both organisations have taken a decisive step towards the consolidation of the existing Regional Animal Health Centers (RAHC) for West and Central Africa (Bamako, Mali), for Southern Africa (Gaborone, Botswana) and for North Africa (Tunis, Tunisia). Where appropriate, this bilateral agreement, endorsed by the host countries, will be extended to a three-way Agreement with the African Union's specialised Inter-african Bureau for Animal Resources (IBAR). The Centers act as a framework for the coordination and harmonisation of strategies for monitoring and evaluation of avian influenza control activities, as well as other transboundary animal diseases Further information on the RAHC's in Africa and the Middle East
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