Epidemiology workforce capacity development is a key part of strengthening Animal Health Systems. The aim of a field epidemiology training programme is to improve the institutional capacity to detect, prevent, control, and manage animal diseases that negatively impact animal and human health, farmers’ livelihoods, food security, and trade. These guidelines provide an eight-step approach to develop competency based training programmes, from assessment of the needs and readiness of a country or region, to developing, planning, implementing, and monitoring and assessment of the impact of field epidemiology training programs. A set of core competencies developed by a participative and inclusive process, for frontline and intermediate levels, are provided to guide the development of curriculum and strategic plans to better achieve field epidemiology training programme sustainability. These guidelines should assist in addressing the veterinary services and animal health systems’ needs and priorities including field epidemiology workforce capacity development.
This document details higher order One Health competencies at the subdomain level based on competencies defined in the 14 domains of the COHFE Framework. [Author] The subdomain level higher order competencies are defined in Table X. [Author]1 for each domain (numbered by domain) at three training levels (frontline, intermediate and advanced), with each level building on the previous level so that demonstration of the previous level’s competencies is required in addition to those indicated at the given level. [Author] The guidance also recommends and describes curriculum topics and provides example learning objectives for all three training levels. [Author]
This document was developed to assist field epidemiology training programmes in establishing mentorship programmes using a One Health approach. [Author] It describes core competencies for mentors that programmes can use in selecting and training field epidemiology mentors. [Author] The manual provides examples of existing mentor training programmes and provides guidance for training and evaluating mentors. [Author] In addition, the document describes mentor roles and responsibilities, benefits of mentoring for mentees, mentors and organizations, outlines the qualities of a good mentor, explores approaches to strengthen One Health mentoring in field epidemiology training programmes, and assesses the benefits and limitations of virtual mentoring. [Author]
Mobility is a vital strategy employed by pastoralists to capitalize on the scarce availability of resources in variable environments, making pastoralism economically feasible and environmentally sustainable. Through mobility, pastoralists can produce animal-sourced products that provide food and income security to populations in the world’s rangelands. Such a practice also provides a range of benefits to the environment while fostering the capacity to adapt to changing social and natural environments. With a few exceptions, policies have largely not kept up with new scholarship and development discourse that acknowledges the importance of mobility to pastoralism. There is a lag in and resistance to legislating in favor of mobility. The overall objective of this handbook is to guide the development of legal and policy frameworks for securing mobility for various pastoral production systems and practices. This handbook calls for the legal recognition and securing of pastoral mobility as a way of safeguarding and facilitating a continuous stream of economic and social benefits for pastoralists, countries, and the environment. It facilitates a deeper understanding of pastoral mobility through examples and case studies drawn from various parts of the world and identifies considerations to be borne in mind when legislating for mobility.
The publication lays out a framework to develop and track high-quality learning activities for continuing education programmes in OH field epidemiology.
This manual provides details of the Frontline In-Service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (ISAVET) programme’s structure, core competencies, learning outcomes, training activities (training modules, field assignments), supervision, monitoring, and evaluation for Trainees. The intended audience of the manual are individuals enrolled in the Frontline (ISAVET) at the national level. The manual references other ISAVET manuals and documents – e.g. ISAVET Trainer Manual, ISAVET Mentor Manual, SOPs, course registration forms and, templates etc. This manual, will serve as an FAO global resource for national capacity development of Veterinary Services to detect and respond to emerging infectious animal diseases including transboundary animal diseases and zoonotic diseases.
This booklet provides guidance on prevention, detection and control of African swine fever (ASF) in resource-limited settings. It is designed primarily for places where ASF is endemic with few or no prospects of eliminating the disease, and places at high risk of incursion. The guide is divided into five sections. The first covers key aspects of the disease that can be exploited when developing prevention and control programmes, even when resources are limited. The next three sections provide suggestions on simple, low-cost measures for ASF prevention, early warning and detection, and control that have been shown to work in these settings. The last section considers ways that communities can work together to manage ASF, as well as the role of public-private partnerships in this process. Animal health is not just the responsibility of government veterinary services or individual producers. It also involves local communities, feed suppliers, pig traders and processors, and animal health workers at community level. By working together, with the help of the knowledge contained in this guide, we can ensure that the devastation caused by ASF can be minimized, even in places where resources to prevent and control the disease are scarce.
The livestock sector faces a range of challenges, including climate change, emerging diseases, competition for natural resources and evolving demand for animal-source foods, which is increasing globally, especially in developing countries. Genetic diversity of livestock is a key resource for allowing livestock keepers to address these challenges, but this diversity has been in a state of decline. The diminishing genetic diversity thus represents yet another obstacle for sustainable livestock production. Cryoconservation (i.e. ex situ – in vitro conservation) of genetic resources through gene banking provides one of the most powerful tools governments and other stakeholders have to manage genetic diversity in both the short and long term and thereby provide future generations with the tools to meet the challenges ahead. Gene banking genetic resources fits within the context of the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources, which was developed and adopted by FAO Member Nations. Specifically, Strategic Priority 9 of the Global Plan of Action is “Establish or strengthen ex situ conservation programmes” and Strategic Priority 11 urges countries to “Develop approaches and technical standards for conservation. To assist countries in the implementation the Global Plan of Action, FAO worked with experts from around the world to prepare technical guidelines. In 2012 FAO published FAO Guidelines on Cryoconservation of animal genetic resources.Gene banking is a long-term effort that needs to be viewed in terms of decades rather than years, as demonstrated by similar systems for agricultural crops. The responsibility for establishing such resources lies squarely within governments’ roles of providing public goods and food security. Gene banking of animal genetic resources is a technology-intense undertaking and the associated technologies are in a continual state of research and development. The livestock sector also continues to evolve rapidly. Since the development and release of the previous guidelines, numerous changes have taken place. Critical among these is a greater appreciation of the opportunities for actively utilizing cryopreserved material to enhance management of in vivo populations, rather than as simply an “insurance policy” to protect breeds against extinction.This key development has led to further changes in gene bank management. First, interaction with users of the stored material has increased. This in turn has created a need to involve stakeholders more closely in the management of genetic collections and to better monitor and document the processes of gene banking to ensure quality management.
Molecular biotechnologies have developed rapidly and substantially since the release of these previous guidelines. The livestock sector has been an active participant in the so-called “genomic revolution.” Advancements in the sequencing of genomes and related genotyping methods have created opportunities for gathering much more information on the molecular level than ever possible, at a faster rate, and for exponentially decreased costs. Scientists and other livestock stakeholders in countries with highly developed economies have been among the main beneficiaries of this revolution. However, the greatly decreased costs of genomic applications have also created opportunities in countries with developing and transitional economies. In many instances, the lack of awareness of these opportunities and in the technical capacity for the full application of genomic tools may represent a greater obstacle to their utilization than the expenses involved.The development of these guidelines and the subsequent application of the information contained herein may help to bridge this gap, bringing new opportunities to light and transferring knowledge that can be used to increase the genetic characterization of AnGR and subsequently improve the sustainable use and conservation of livestock genetic diversity.
