Emergencies can disrupt ecosystems, impacting animal and human health, food systems, livelihoods, and economies. The animal health sector faces risks from transboundary diseases, pandemics, natural disasters, and climate change. Recent outbreaks, such as avian influenza, African swine fever, Ebola, rabies, and COVID-19, underscore these threats.
In South-East Asia, diseases like foot and mouth disease, African swine fever, and highly pathogenic avian influenza are of concern. African swine fever has severely affected pig populations, causing socio-economic impacts and disrupting the pork value chain.
The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) supports countries in managing these crises. In 2019, WOAH held a workshop on emergency preparedness, and in 2023, it co-organised an agro-terrorism simulation exercise with FAO and INTERPOL to enhance cooperation in animal health emergencies.
Objectives:
- Enhancing awareness and knowledge on the principles, concepts, standards, guidelines, existing tools, regional frameworks to strengthen emergency preparedness and response capacities and capabilities of Veterinary Services.
- Providing updates on progress, success stories, lesson identified, challenges and opportunities in emergency preparedness planning; prevention and response to the recent animal health emergencies and disasters.
- Identifying practical solutions and actions to develop, revise and test emergency preparedness plans as well as improve early detection and response capabilities of the Veterinary Services.
- Strengthening coordination, networking, transparency, information sharing and cooperation
amongst Members, and partners to better prepare and respond to future animal health
emergencies.
- Develop a Sub-Regional Action Plan to improve emergency preparedness and response
