18th - 19th May

The Reinforcing Veterinary Governance in Africa (VET-GOV) Programme held its Inception Workshop at the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Headquarters in Paris from the 18th to 19th May 2012. The objectives of the workshop were to acquaint Stakeholders with the project rational, objectives, implementation arrangements, share Information on the current situation of veterinary governance in member states, build inter-RECs synergies and complementarities on the management of overlapping memberships, and to ensure Member States' full support for the implementation of the Programme. The opening session was chaired by Dr Bruce Mukanda of AU-IBAR.

Address by the Director General of the OIE, Dr Bernard Vallat

The Director-General of the OIE, Dr. Bernard Vallat, welcomed everybody to Paris and to the Inception Workshop. He emphasized the role of the OIE in promoting good veterinary governance. He stressed that the OIE Performance of Veterinary Services (PVS) tool would assist in identifying areas that can be addressed in the Veterinary Governance Programme. He reiterated that the OIE was ready to work with African Member States (MS) to promote good veterinary governance.

Address by the Chief Veterinary Officer of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Dr Juan Lubroth Chief Veterinary Officer

FAO, represented by Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Juan Lubroth, thanked AU-IBAR for inviting them to the workshop and pledged to work with AU-IBAR to develop veterinary legislation that will support good veterinary governance. He indicated that veterinary legislation should be developed in relation to a country's development plans and investment policies. He thanked AU-IBAR for reaching out to its development partners and indicated that the funding by the European Union (EU) showed a vote of confidence on AU-IBAR by the international donor community.

Address by the Director of AU-IBAR, Prof Ahmed El-Sawalhy

The Director of AU-IBAR, Prof Ahmed El-Sawalhy, indicated that the VET-GOV programme was being implemented in partnership with OIE, FAO and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), while AU-IBAR was the overall coordinator. He indicated that the objective of the programme is to improve the institutional environment at the national and regional levels to address critical veterinary governance gaps in order to provide effective and efficient animal health services in Africa. The project will focus on creating a conducive and participatory change environment through evidence-based advocacy and knowledge creation. It will also focus on capacity building at the individual and institutional level on policy formulation and implementation. He thanked the EU for funding the project and both the OIE and FAO for their continued technical assistance.

Technical sessions (plenary and group work)

The first technical session centred on livestock policies and veterinary Legislation in Africa. During the session, which was chaired by Dr Juan Lubroth of FAO, officials from the partner organisations made several presentations. Dr Bruce Mukanda, from AU-IBAR, presented the "Overview of the AU-IBAR Strategic Plan 2010-2014", Dr Baba Soumare, also from AU-IBAR, presented the "Overview of the Vet-Gov Programme". Dr François Caya of the OIE, presented the OIE PVS Pathway and Legislative Reviews, followed by Dr Cheikh LY of FAO, who presented the FAO's Contribution to the Improvement of Livestock Policies and the One Health Agenda.

The second technical session centred on the VET-GOV implementation arrangements, chaired by Dr Yacouba Samaté and Dr Walter Masiga of the OIE. In this session, the roles of AU-IBAR, the OIE and FAO were presented by Dr Baboucarr Jaw, Dr Alain Dehove and Dr Bouna Diop, respectively. The session ended with a presentation of the outcomes of the project management committee meeting by Dr Mohammed Abdel Razig Aziz of AU-IBAR, followed by discussions.

During the group sessions, participants reviewed the draft eligibility criteria for the project pilot activities and critically reflected on the potential activities that could be implemented in the regions. The challenges and needs in terms of policy reforms, animal health strategies and veterinary legislations improvement were also discussed. An action plan with timelines and responsibilities was drawn up, discussed and agreed upon for ease of implementation follow-up.

In closing the workshop, the Director of AU-IBAR, Prof Ahmed El-Sawalhy stated that the Workshop would enable partners to deliver the programme in an organised, coherent and meaningful manner, considering the place and role of each partner in the implementation of the programme. He reminded participants of the need to pay particular attention to certain issues as early as possible due to the complexity of the project. He urged participants, once back home, to address the following:

• Fast track the collection of the baseline data to be analyzed as soon as possible.
• Raise awareness about the project with authorities and relevant stakeholders.
• Start advocacy with policy makers about the need for policy analysis, policy formulation and implementation.
• Create a conducive and participatory change environment.
• Build institutional and individual capacity in policy analysis, formulation and implementation.
• Encourage change through supporting initiatives.
• Prepare and submit pilot activities proposals for implementation.

A programme management meeting preceded the Inception Workshop. The meeting took place on the 17th May 2012 at the OIE Headquarters. It was attended by AU-IBAR, OIE and FAO. The meeting discussed the following agenda items:

• Overview of contribution agreements by each partner
• Coordination and information sharing
• Development of a consolidated annual workplan
• Action plan for the first Steering Committee Meeting
• VET-GOV and the Africa chapter of the Global Framework on Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TAD)

The plenary in session

Participants at the workshop