A Path to Prosperity New Directions for African Livestock

Global Bodies
The main global bodies working for livestock
development in Africa have complementary
and relatively well defined mandates.
The World Organisation
for Animal Health (OIE)
The OIE is an autonomous intergovernmental body
that pre-dates the UN. Its mission is to guarantee
the transparency of animal disease status
world-wide, manage veterinary scientific
information and provide expertise in and promote
international solidarity for the control of animal
disease. The OIE, as the WTO recognized official
and sole intergovernmental global animal health
and zoonosis standard-setting body, supports
and maintains international expertise on the
international standards, available to all OIE
Members. As such, a major role of the OIE is to
produce scientifically-based standards and
guidelines. Since the recognition of animal health
standards, by the WTO, as the scientific reference
points for the safety of international trade of animals
and animal products, the development of OIE
standards for international trade has assumed a
prominent role.
The work of the OIE on standards can be divided into
two broad categories:
> Standards contained in the Terrestrial Animal
Health Code and Aquatic Animal Health Code,
dealing with prevention and control of animal
diseases including zoonoses, animal welfare,
sanitary safety (including animal production food
safety), and sanitary safety of trade in animals
and animal products; and
> Biological standards contained in the Manual of
Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial
Animals and Manual of Diagnostic Tests for
Aquatic Animals, which provide, as a companion
document to the Codes, a harmonised approach
to disease diagnosis by describing internationally
agreed laboratory diagnostic techniques. The
Terrestrial Manual also includes requirements
for the production and control of biological
products (mainly vaccines).
Furthermore, the OIE guidelines and recommendations
are given in specific publications separate from the
Codes and Manuals.
The OIE also increasingly focuses on assisting
developing countries in areas of animal health
capacity building, as related to the enhancement of
efficient veterinary services under good governance,
a global public good, to regulation and legislation,
laboratories and the strengthening and evaluation of
public veterinary services. The OIE has developed a
tool for the review of performance of veterinary
services (the PVS Tool), using OIE international
standards on quality and evaluation.
The OIE PVS Tool promotes a culture of raising
awareness and continual improvement, which can
be used depending on the level of interest, priorities
and commitment of the veterinary services and their
stakeholders. The PVS Pathway involves the
systematic evaluation of veterinary services to
international standards (PVS Evaluation), a costed
plan based on integrating the evaluation with
national priorities (PVS Gap Analysis), access to OIE
resources, strategies and services (veterinary
legislation, public/private investments, veterinary
education and laboratories), and a consistent
mechanism for the monitoring and evaluation
of progress (PVS Pathway follow-up mission).
It can support round tables with donors and
partners and support the preparation of
investment programmes/pre-appraisal of projects
and possible modernisation of veterinary legislation.
OIE has almost 180 member countries and their
delegates, mostly Chief Veterinary Officers, have
supported the secretariat to keep abreast of
developing animal health issues. The organisation is,
in addition to its work on trade standards, examining
issues of importance to developing countries.
These include the impact of climate change on
animal diseases and production and developing
guidance on animal identification and traceability,
animal welfare and private standards related to
animal health.
OIE has built strong links with livestock industry and
other relevant bodies, It has over 40 cooperative
agreements with international governmental and
non-governmental organisations (NGOs), such as
the safe supply of affordable food everywhere
(SSAFE) Initiative and informal agreements for
cooperation with other organisations.
The Impetus Strategy Paper I Page 56