Encourage international solidarity in the control of animal diseases
The OIE provides technical support to Member Countries requesting assistance with animal disease control and eradication operations, including diseases transmissible to humans. The OIE notably offers expertise to the poorest countries to help them control animal diseases that cause livestock losses, present a risk to public health and threaten other Countries.
The OIE has a permanent contact to international regional and national financial organizations in order to convince them to invest more and better on the control of animal diseases and zoonosis
Regional Animal Health Centers (RAHC) in Africa and the Middle-East
The establishment of Regional Animal Health Centers (RAHC) is a fairly novel phenomenon. Three major events led to the establishment of the first Regional Animal Health Center in Bamako (in 2006) :
(a) The appearance in 2003 of pandemic H5N1-type notifiable highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in south-eastern Asia.
(b) The establishment in 2004 of the Global Framework for the progressive control of Trans-boundary Animal Diseases (TAD).
(c) The introduction in 2006 of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Africa.
The Global Framework for Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADs) is a joint FAO/OIE initiative, which combines the strengths of both organisations to achieve agreed common objectives. GF-TADs is basically a facilitating mechanism which endeavours to empower regional alliances in the fight against trans-boundary animal diseases (TADs), to provide for capacity building and to assist in establishing programmes for the specific control of certain TADs based on regional priorities. The overall objective of GF-TADs is to limit the ravages of animal diseases on the livelihoods of livestock dependent people around the world and to promote safe and healthy trade through strengthening local and national capabilities.
In operational terms the GF-TAD Agreement seeks to enhance collaboration and cooperation with regional specialised organisations in animal health by direct personnel inputs to member countries in ensuring coordinated strategies and trans-boundary disease control programmes, to sustain regional reference laboratories and institutes, to host and guide meetings, workshops, capacity building in technologies and understanding of mechanisms of disease spread and disease prevention measures. It is recognised that some of the existing regional structures are notably weak and require revitalization or strengthening. In order to achieve this, the GF-TAD aims to establish Regional Support Units, with a cadre of epidemiologists (and support personnel) and initially funded through the GF-TADs, integrated in relevant regional bodies.
While GF-TAD was still being rolled-out and Regional Support Units were taking shape, HPAI hit the African continent in January 2006, to start with in Nigeria. An improvised collaboration between regional stakeholders and international organisations, represented at regional level, was kick-started to assist the affected country in the shortest possible time. As other countries also became affected (Niger, Burkina Faso, …) it became clear that there was a desperate need for guidance at country level on technical, organisational and financial issues, both for infected countries, and countries at risk in West and Central Africa. The technical expertise of FAO and OIE, available in West Africa at the time, was pooled, together with that of AU-IBAR and led to the establishment of the first Regional Animal Health Center, located in Bamako, Mali in April 2006. As such, it became the first Regional Support Unit, as defined in the GF-TAD’s agreement.
Regional Animal Health Centers are not to be regarded as institutions. They are a coordination mechanism, whereby each partner Organisation maintains its core activities and financial independence. However, they may submit joint proposals to implement and or support activities in the area of animal health which has a regional dimension (first and foremost trans-boundary diseases).
Regional Animal Health Centres are considered as ‘service providers’ to the Regional Economic Communities (REC), such as e.g. ECOWAS, CEMAC, or SADC. They may provide strategic guidance and additional (technical, logistic and financial) inputs, either directly or through member countries or the host-country.
At this point in time, four Centers, i.e. the RAHC for West and Central Africa, the one for Southern Africa, the one for Northern Africa and the one for the Middle East, are fully operational with staff seconded from OIE, FAO and in some instances from AU-IBAR (Africa) and the Government of Lebanon (Middle East, based in Beirut). In three Centers, the OIE is established as the lead organisation, holding the position of permanent secretariat of the RAHC. The RAHC for Northern Africa (Tunis) is set-up under the auspices of the FAO. In Nairobi (East Africa), the Center operates as a bilateral collaboration between FAO and AU-IBAR, where AU-IBAR is the lead agency
Comments : REC : Regional Economic Community
GoL : Government of Lebanon
ECOWAS : Economic Community of West African States (Abuja, Nigeria)
SADC : Southern African Development Community (Gaborone, Botswana)
UMA : Union of the Arab Maghreb (Tunis, Tunisia)
The OIE World Animal Health
and Welfare Fund (WAHWF)
Smallholder pig farmer in São Tomé (c) P. Bastiaensen (2002)
The World Animal Health and Welfare Fund, which was established by the OIE in 2004, is dedicated to evaluations of the Performance of Veterinary Services (OIE-PVS) in more than one hundred countries, using experts trained and certified by the OIE. The Fund is currently supported by Australia, Canada, the European Commission, France, Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States (US Department of Agriculture) and the World Bank. The Fund also provides continuing education for national officials in charge of modernising the VS and maintaining relations with the OIE and for relevant private sector representatives Read more on PVS here
(Middle) east meets west (Cairo) Egypt (c) Nicolas Denormandie (2008)
The "Better Training for Safer Food" programme
In an effort to help developing countries improve their food safety systems for the benefit of their populations and economies, the European Commission has launched a new initiative – "Better Training for Safer Food in Africa – BTSF - Africa." Through BTSF-Africa, over the next two years, € 10 million will be used to fund capacity building activities. Launched in 2005, the programme BTSF has provided training to both European and third country officials who are responsible for checking that EU rules related to food and feed, animal health and welfare and plant health are properly applied.
The key objective is to support food safety mainly by the transfer of technical expertise and policy advice in areas of food safety and quality across Africa. The knowledge, expertise and skills transferred will help to produce and distribute agro-food products compatible with international SPS standards, contributing towards the reduction of the likelihood of food-borne diseases and the related health and socio-economic burden.
Four activities, worth € 5.4 million, are being implemented by the OIE in the course of 2009 and 2010.
Concerning Africa in particular, the December 2007 Lisbon Summit adopted a Joint Africa-EU Strategy identifying eight partnerships in which specific strategies will have to be put in place. The third relates to Trade, Regional Integration and Infrastructure, and includes an SPS component. The Strategy will be implemented through successive short-term joint action plans and enhanced political dialogue at all levels For more on "BTSF in Africa" please visit :
Global and regional development programmes endorsed by the OIE (selection)
The OIE World Animal Health
and Welfare Fund (WAHWF) 
