Photo, from left to right: Agnes Leblond, DVM (Ecole Nationale des Services Veterinaires [ENSV]), Tongkorn Meeyam, DVM, MS (Chiang Mai University Veterinary Public Health Center Asia Pacific), Andres Perez, DVM, PhD (Center for Animal Health and Food Safety at the University of Minnesota), Emilio Leon, DVM, PhD (Centro Buenos Aires para la Capacitación de los Servicios Veterinarios), Francois Caya, DVM, (OIE), Yalace Kaboret, DVM, MS (Ecole Inter Etats des Sciences et Medecine Veterinaires, Dakar, Senegal), and Vincent Brioudes (ENSV).

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA — May 3, 2018 — Five global organizations have begun to plan strategies to bolster agricultural- and livestock-based economies in developing countries while improving the health and wellness of animals, humans and the environment. The participants were convened this spring by the University of Minnesota Center for Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS).

At the May 3 meeting, the representatives of the five centers discussed the overall need among developing countries to improve agricultural and livestock systems and train their workforce in order to access the international market for these products. The most sustainable pathway toward development for these countries is accessing international markets that could pay a differential price for their products.

“However, to access those markets, countries need to meet international standards, including the ability to control and eradicate certain diseases,” says Andres Perez, DVM, PhD, who directs CAHFS and holds the Endowed Chair of Global Animal Health and Food Safety. “By helping the veterinary services in those countries to detect, control, and eliminate those diseases, we are helping their development, and advancing the University of Minnesota’s core mission of applying knowledge to benefit the people of the state, the nation, and the world.”

The five participating centers make up the Collaborating Centers for Capacity Building in Veterinary Services who work with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)—Ecole Nationale des Services Veterinaires (ENSV) of France, Chiang Mai University Veterinary Public Health Center Asia Pacific, Centro Buenos Aires para la Capacitación de los Servicios Veterinarios, Ecole Inter Etats des Sciences et Medecine Veterinaires of Dakar, Senegal, and the University of Minnesota’s CAHFS. The meeting was the first in its kind—the five centers had not previously met to specifically discuss an implementation plan for such strategies.

The OIE’s mission is to synergize the world-wide veterinary effort to strive for One Health. The OIE has 180 member countries, regional and sub-regional offices around the world, numerous OIE reference laboratories, and 50 OIE Collaborating Centers with a variety of focuses. Under the OIE’s leadership, the five Collaborating Centers for Capacity Building in Veterinary Services are hoping to create a program that would develop capacity to control and prevent disease in the many developing countries that have an agricultural- or livestock-based economy.

Check out more photos from our iCOMOS presentations and meetings.