15 September 2022 (Tokyo, Japan) – To complete their studies and graduate, veterinary professionals must understand and have competency in the promotion of public goods in areas of animal and zoonotic disease control and food safety. To support countries’ preparations for veterinary graduates to have the necessary competencies, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE) has developed sets of recommendations, guidelines, and initiatives on pertinent topics. More recently, WOAH has initiated the programme for veterinary workforce development in which Veterinary Education Establishments (VEEs) and Veterinary Statutory Bodies (VSBs) play key roles.
In Asia and the Pacific, we support networking of VEEs and VSBs. Several relevant meetings at the regional and sub-regional levels were organized to provide good opportunities for participants to share experiences and learn from each other, and to gain a more in-depth understanding of the initiatives and recommendations of our organisation. We have also been supporting the Asian Association of Veterinary Schools and networks among VEEs and VSBs in the Southeast Asia sub-region. During the Regional Workshop for VEEs and VSBs held in 2018, a sub-regional meeting for South Asian VEEs and VSBs was suggested as a follow-up activity. Further, in June 2021, WOAH supported organising a virtual workshop for VEEs in India during which establishment of a standing platform for a sub-regional network of VEEs and VSBs in South Asia was recommended.
...[we recommended] establishment of a standing platform for a sub-regional network of Veterinary Education Establishments (VEEs) and Veterinary Statutory Bodies (VSBs) in South Asia.
In April 2022, the WOAH Regional Representation for Asia and the Pacific organized a Virtual Workshop for VEEs and VSBs in South Asia and Iran to promote shared thinking and action based on the exchange of visions, experiences, documentation, research and technical cooperation on veterinary education in the sub-region. The workshop highlighted some key priority topics around veterinary education in the sub-region and the opportunities for establishing or strengthening collaboration and coordination among VEEs, VSBs and other key stakeholders at both the national and sub-national levels. Recommendations from the workshop are expected to guide Members to define roadmaps for improving veterinary education outcomes, including through establishment of a sub-regional network of VEEs/VSBs and informing us how to support Members’ efforts.
For more information about our supported activities related to veterinary education in Asia and the Pacific, please visit: https://rr-asia.woah.org/en/projects/vee.
