...included topics such as wildlife health and climate change, the human dimensions of wildlife health, systems thinking and approaches to One Health and wildlife health, lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of wildlife scientists in the response, and innovations in diagnostics and surveillance.
29 July 2022 (Madison, USA) – Representatives from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE) attended the 70th Annual International Conference of the Wildlife Disease Association (WDA), from 24-29 July in Madison, Wisconsin. The conference’s theme this year was “holistic solutions for wildlife health,” including support for the WDA’s mission to “promote healthy wildlife and ecosystems”.
Organizers of the conference were the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the International Crane Foundation. The 2022 Platinum Sponsors of the event were the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and WOAH.
Photo: WOAH team at a WDA banner – Tiggy Grillo (WOAH Focal Point for Wildlife in Australia, just completed a secondment to WOAH headquarters), Francois Diaz (WOAH headquarters), Lesa Thompson (Regional Representation for Asia and the Pacific), Maria Mesplet (Regional Representation for the Americas), Dharmaveer Sharma (WOAH headquarters)
The six-day agenda was packed, featuring presentations defining the conference’s themes, which included topics such as wildlife health and climate change, the human dimensions of wildlife health, systems thinking and approaches to One Health and wildlife health, lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of wildlife scientists in the response, and innovations in diagnostics and surveillance.
WOAH representatives joined and participated in the activities, including hosting a special “lunch and learn” event titled, “What’s happening with wildlife at the World Organisation for Animal Health?” on 27th July, presented by Tiggy Grillo (Focal Point for Wildlife, Australia), Francois Diaz (Headquarters), Lesa Thompson (RR-AP), Maria Mesplet (RR Americas), Isabella Fontana (Focal Point for Wildlife, Brazil) and Dharmaveer Sharma (Headquarters). Our team also met with WDA Council members, discussing new strategies for collaboration between the two organisations.
Photo: Special “lunch and learn” event – “What’s happening with wildlife at the World Organisation for Animal Health?”, 27th July
All the conference events were designed to put forward solutions for societal challenges such as climate change, global pollution, food insecurity, inequities, and injustices, that all have a nexus with wildlife and wildlife health. For further information on the conference including details on all sessions, please follow the link below.
For more information:
70th Annual International Conference Wildlife Disease Association (23-29 July 2022)
