Staying on top of African Swine Fever in Asia-Pacific – Despite a Human Pandemic

In addition to the recent outbreak of COVID-19, with its devastating impact on the agriculture and agrifood sectors, African Swine Fever (ASF) continues to spread and threaten the livelihoods, food security and nutritional status of vulnerable groups in Asia and the Pacific region.

In response to this continuing ASF threat, the Emergency Centre of Animal Disease (ECTAD) at FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) is launching its first online training course on ASF preparedness involving more than 400 animal health practitioners from 19 countries in the Asia-Pacific Region. This work is being supported by the The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster and Assistance (OFDA).

The training materials were originally developed for Eastern Europe and ECTAD-RAP has adapted them to to fit into the Asia-Pacific context. Further technical support has been provided by the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD) through a virtual learning platform.

The training commenced today and was opened by the Regional Manager (a.i.) of ECTAD-RAP, Kachen Wongsathapornchai, followed by an interactive webinar.

The course is open for a duration of four weeks, a specific topic is covered each week using a discussion forum where participants and trainers can interact. There will be a second live webinar on 18 June and the course will end on 21 June. A final assessment test will take place during the last week of the course.