The 9th Global Steering Committee Meeting of the FAO/OIE Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADs) was held at the OIE headquarters in Paris, France on Nov. 8-9, 2016. Mr. Zhang Zhongqiu, State Chief Veterinary Officer, attended the meeting and delivered a keynote speech, elaborating on the regional TADs control situation and making suggestions for improvement at the global level.
The meeting reviewed the work of the Steering Committees at the global and regional level over the past year, analyzed the current situation and challenges ahead, and put forward suggestions for the work next year. Key topics were discussed at the meeting, including making regional roadmaps for PPR elimination in accordance with the global roadmap and strategy, improving the evaluation criteria system for TADs control, and conducting the third assessment of GF-TADs work, etc.
In his speech, Mr. Zhang Zhongqiu said that it is an important role of GF-TADs to coordinate the relevant work of FAO and OIE and mobilize members to effectively control TADs. He suggested that a new Five-year Action Plan should be worked out as soon as possible to facilitate the information-sharing and coordination among members and across regions, and support provided to members under the global and regional frameworks to better control TADs.
GF-TADs is a joint FAO/OIE cooperation mechanism established in 2004 with the objective of combining the strength of both organizations to help members to control and eventually eliminate the TADs, including zoonosis, that have generated global concerns and serious impact on socioeconomic development. At present, GF-TADs is focusing on coordinating the efforts of its members in the control of animal diseases including FMD, AI, PPR and rabies, reconfirming its medium and long-term objective of elimination of PPR globally by 2030 following the successful eradication of rinderpest.