Application of the OIE-PVS Tool to Aquatic Animal Health Services

Keren Bar-Yaacov CVO Norway, member of OIE-PVS ad-hoc working group OIE conference Aquatic Animal Health Programmes Their benefits for global food security Panama 28 – 30 June 2011

OIE support to Members

OIE PVS Pathway: Collaborating with governments, stakeholders and donors

Veterinary Services Strategic Plan Modernisation of legislation Public/private Partnerships Evaluation PVS « diagnosis » PVS Gap Analysis

« prescription»

PVS Follow-Up Evaluation mission Country / Donors Investment / Projects Veterinary Education Laboratories

http://www.oie.int/eng/oie/organisation/en_vet_eval_tool.htm?e1d2

Application to Aquatic Animal Health Services

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Why do we need to include aquatic animal health services in the OIE-PVS activities?

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Adaptation of the OIE-PVS tool and a pilot aquatic evaluation

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What are the unique issues related to good aquatic animal health governance?

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Consequences for the OIE-PVS tool

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Some proposals on the way forward.

Why include Aquatic Animal Health Services in the OIE-PVS activities

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Aquatic animal health standard setting has been part of the OIE remit for more than 50 years.

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Aquatic animal production based on aquaculture is growing exponentially, and has during the past 5 -10 years already surpassed catch-fisheries measured in volume in many countries world-wide.

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Aquatic animal production from aquaculture represents an essential asset to the income of developed and developing countries world-wide.

Why include Aquatic Animal Health Services in the OIE-PVS activities

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Intensive production systems and large volumes in limited geographical water systems are posing new challenges to animal health, animal welfare, the environment and food safety.

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Aquatic animal health is a relatively new veterinary field and therefore new and emerging diseases are being discovered at a very rapid rate.

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There is an expectation that the OIE and its member countries take their share of the responsibility to assure a sustainable and ethical production in the coming years.

Background- the code and manual

Since 1995 we have had a separate Aquatic Animal Health Code and Aquatic Diagnostic Manual.

The code and the manual represent the accepted international standards and diagnostic procedures for trade in aquatic animals and their products.

Aquatic Animal Health Code

Available at http://www.oie.int

Chapter 3.1 refers of the Code refers to the quality of Aquatic Animal Health Services.

Adaptation of the OIE-PVS tool

The first OIE Global Aquatic Animal Health conference was held in Bergen, Norway in 2006.

Following up on the conclusions of this conference the OIE has:

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strengthened the ad-hoc group for the OIE-PVS tool with aquatic competence,

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added relevant text on quality of competent authorities in the Aquatic Code, and

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adjusted some Critical Competencies in the OIE PVS tool.

Adaptation of the OIE-PVS tool

The next steps have been:

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Building up a pool of vets with aquatic animal health competence who can perform OIE-PVS evaluations.

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Completing a pilot study of a Member State using the modified OIE-PVS evaluator tool.

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Following the first pilot mission, re adjusting the tool based on the feed back from the evaluators.

Photo: K. Bar-Yaacov

Dr’s Schneider, Donay and Bar-Yaacov, on the first pilot evaluation in South East Asia

Unique issues for good aquatic animal health governance

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Personnel with non-veterinary background may be more competent than the vets.

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No calibrated curriculum for aquatic animal health education within, or as a supplement to, veterinary education.

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No regulation of an aquatic animal health profession and so far no parallel approval system such as a Veterinary Statutory Body.

Unique issues for good aquatic animal health governance

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Focus on increasing production, not necessarily on disease management.

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Knowledge gaps in research and difficulty in getting funding.

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Surveillance and control in the aquatic environment has its own limitations. Understanding of the possibilities and limitations in the field needs special expertise and competence.

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Lacking regulations that contribute to sustainable and ethical standards of production.

Consequences for an aquatic evaluation

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The evaluators must have some understanding of the production systems, the issues surrounding them and the possibilities and limitations in the field.

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Definitions must take account of the Aquatic Code, including more precise terms relating to surveillance and control of aquatic animal diseases.

Photo: K. Bar-Yaacov

Consequences for an aquatic evaluation

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I-1 Staffing professional level of staff must be considered without exclusive reference to veterinarians (though not excluding these).

Photo: B. Bergersen 

I-2 Competencies competence of aquatic animal health professionals must be described, but we have yet to define a “global standard” for an aquatic animal health professional.

Consequences for an aquatic evaluation

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II-2 Veterinary laboratories Aquatic animal health laboratories are not necessarily part of the veterinary laboratory.

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III-5 Veterinary Statutory Body In a country where the vets are not the aquatic animal health professionals, the Veterinary Statutory Body is irrelevant, but as yet no alternative.

Photo: K. Bar-Yaacov

The way forward

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Market the importance of good aquatic animal health governance for future growth in aquatic production. Better to prepare for control, than to repair the damage.

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Support new pilot evaluations, we must get some momentum and build up a body of evaluations. We must also start looking at Gap Analysis and Legislation.

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Train more evaluators with aquatic animal health competence. This is a pre-requisite for doing a good job, and receiving recognition in the field.

The way forward

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Find incentives to use the OIE-PVS pathway as an essential support for good aquatic animal health governance. Budgets and project support should be dependent on an OIE-PVS aquatic evaluation.

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Build good collaboration between OIE, FAO and donors, also in the aquatic field. The need to assure that international activity and support are all pulling in the same direction is even more pertinent for aquatic animal health programmes, compared to the more traditionally known and accepted terrestrial programmes.

The way forward

Let’s draw some good conclusions from the 2nd OIE Global Aquatic Animal Health Conference 2011, here in Panama!

- Disease prevention is in itself an important asset for sustainable production for food security.

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Strengthening good aquatic animal health governance is a global public good and member countries should embark on this mission starting with an OIE-PVS aquatic evaluation.

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Let us all learn from the mistakes of others, regulate the production before the catastrophe, not after!

© Takashi Okuzumi

Thank you for your attention and good luck with your OIE-PVS aquatic evaluation!

Photo: K. Bar-Yaacov