Regional consultation to enhance collaborative approaches for surveillance in Asia and the Pacific

Collaboration and cooperation among neighbouring countries are critical for the control of transboundary animal diseases (TADs) and emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). Some countries in Asia and the Pacific share similar epizones leading to shared risks of animal diseases and zoonoses. In recent years, several emerging animal diseases have severely impacted livestock production systems and threatened  people’s livelihoods in the region. These include African swine fever (ASF), foot and mouth disease (FMD), lumpy skin disease (LSD), high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) and more.

Disease-specific approaches to address and manage these threats independently are unlikely to be cost effective and sustainable. A systems approach, integrating epidemiological, social, and economic perspectives and addressing the whole of ecosystem is necessary to efficiently assess and manage the risks and inform evidence-based and cost-effective disease prevention and control decisions. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been supporting country and multilateral dialogues in the region to strengthen collaboration on TADs prevention and control, including promoting collaborative approach to disease surveillance and early warning. In recent years however, competing priorities for veterinary services, socio-economic disruptions, including restrictions from the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, cross border meetings between countries could not be organized.

Resuming the regional dialogues is critical to strengthen collaboration in the region and work together towards preventing the next pandemic. Therefore, a consultation among countries in the region is proposed between 26 and 28 November 2024, with the aim to strengthen collaborative approaches to livestock disease surveillance and early warning systems in Asia and the Pacific.

Objectives 
The meeting aims to:

1. Review and identify main common gaps in disease surveillance and early warning in the region.
   
2. Share innovative approaches to disease surveillance and early warning that are applicable in the context of the region.
   
3. Identify key elements to address the major common gaps and needs to improve disease surveillance in the Region.
   
4. Identify prioritized actions to strengthen system capacities in surveillance and early warning.

Expected Outputs

1. Key elements to drive the strengthening of disease surveillance in the Region are defined and validated with the participants
2. Agreed-upon prioritized actions to strengthen system capacities in surveillance and early warning
3. Meeting report

 

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