88th Meeting of the SPS Committee
Communication from the World Organisation for Animal
Health (WOAH)
The following communication,
received on 27 February 2024, is being circulated at the
request of the WOAH.
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The World Organisation for
Animal Health (WOAH) is pleased to provide this
report for the information of WTO Members attending the 88th meeting
of the SPS Committee.
The report summarises key activities in WOAH standard-setting work
programme, animal health information, capacity building activities and other
relevant topics.
World Organisation for Animal Health
turns 100 years.
2024 is a significant year for WOAH
as the Organisation proudly commemorates 100 years of unwavering commitment and
achievements in advancing animal health and welfare worldwide. The journey
leading up to WOAH becoming the global authority on animal health is marked by
a long history of pivotal moments. To read more about WOAH and highlights since
its founding on 25 January 1924 please go to the WOAH website.
1 WOAH General Session
1.1. The 91st Annual General Session of the WOAH World
Assembly of Delegates will take place from 26 to 30 May 2024 in Paris. This
General Session will include the adoption of administrative and technical
resolutions as well as electing the WOAH Director General, the members of the
governing bodies of the WOAH (members of the Council and of the Bureaux of the
Regional Commissions), and the members of the Specialist Commissions.
1.2. The provisional programme will be available on the WOAH website in
March 2024. With exception of the administrative session reserved to
elections, all daily sessions of the General Session will be webcasted live via
the WOAH website.
1.3. The General Session will include a Forum focused on "Future-ready
governance for a resilient WOAH". At the Forum, the results of a
commissioned review of WOAH's institutional texts along with foresight
scenarios depicting possible futures that the Organisation may face will be
explored to address the needs and gaps within WOAH's current governance
structure.
1.4. Side events and kiosk exhibition stands will take place before and
after the daily plenary sessions. These activities will allow delegations to
interact with experts on a number of specific initiatives relevant to WOAH and
its missions.
1.5. As has been done in recent years Pre-General Session Information
Webinars will be held in virtual mode to provide an opportunity for the
Presidents of the four Specialist Commissions to share information with members
on the standards to be presented for adoption at the General Session. They will
take place on 16 April 2024 for the Biological Standards Commission, the 17
April 2024 for the Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission (Code
Commission) with support of the Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases
(Scientific Commission) and the 18 April 2024 for the Aquatic Animal Health
Standards Commission (Aquatic Animals Commission). Each webinar will be
conducted with simultaneous interpretation in English, French and Spanish and
will be recorded and uploaded on the WOAH website.
2 WOAH international
standards for terrestrial and aquatic animals
2.1. The four Specialist Commissions met during February 2024 to continue
work to review existing, and develop new, WOAH international standards in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code, the Aquatic Animal Health Code, the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for
Terrestrial Animals and the Manual
of Diagnostic Tests for Aquatic Animals, along with other activities
relevant to each Commission's terms of reference.
2.2. The meeting reports of the Code Commission, the Aquatic Animals
Commission and the Biological Standards Commission provide information about
the new and revised texts that will be proposed for adoption at the 2024
General Session as well as information about other topics discussed during
these meetings including texts circulated for comment and other information.
The report of the Scientific Commission provides information about the
evaluation of dossiers for official status.
2.3. The official reports of these four Commission meetings will be
uploaded onto the Delegates website and the WOAH public website simultaneously
for each language (English, French and Spanish) once finalized.
2.4. From March 2024 WOAH will start to implement a step-wise process for
the publication on the Delegate's website of comments submitted on new and
revised texts circulated for comments. This process will eventually
include the publication of comments and Commission responses on both the
Delegate's and WOAH websites.
2.5. The links to the February 2024 reports, once available, are provided
below:
·_
Biological
Standards Commission: February 2024 meeting report
·_
Scientific
Commission for Animal Diseases: February 2024
meeting report
·_
Aquatic Animal
Health Standards Commission: February 2024 meeting report
·_
Terrestrial Animal
Health Standards Commission: February 2024 meeting report
2.6. WOAH would like to highlight to the Committee the following work
undertaken during the February meetings:
2.1 Terrestrial
Animal Health Code
2.7. The Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Commission continued its
ongoing work to update and revise the Terrestrial
Code. The Commission reviewed draft standards and considered
comments received, considered the progress of different ongoing projects, and
discussed upcoming work.
2.8. The Commission agreed to propose 16 texts for adoption at the 91st
General Session in May 2024 (including glossary definitions and new and
revised chapters). Revised chapters that will be proposed for adoption at the
91st General Session include, among others, a revised Chapter 4.6.
General hygiene in semen collection and processing centres; a revised Chapter
6.10. Responsible and prudent use of antimicrobial agents in veterinary
medicine; a revised Chapter 7.5. Slaughter of animals; a revised Chapter 8.8.
Infection with foot and mouth disease virus; and a new Chapter 8.Z. Infection
with Trypanosoma evansi (surra).
2.9. The Commission also agreed to circulate some revised draft chapters
for comments and requested experts to continue with the ongoing development of
a new Chapter 4.X. Biosecurity and the revision of Chapters 5.4., 5.5., 5.6.
and 5.7. related to the measures and procedures applicable in the exportation,
importation and transit of commodities. The Commission, in close collaboration
with the Scientific Commission, agreed to start work to review the chapter on
scrapie, five chapters related to horse encephalitides, and start work on the
development of a new chapter on the implementation of zoning.
2.2 Manual
of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals
2.10. The Biological Standards Commission continued its ongoing work to
ensure that chapters in the Terrestrial
Manual are up-to-date and are relevant in the face of important
outbreaks of terrestrial animal diseases worldwide. The Commission circulated
13 updated disease chapters in its February 2024 report that will be proposed
for adoption at the 91st General Session in May 2024, including
updated or new vaccine sections for the chapters on lumpy skin disease and
African swine fever, respectively.
2.3 Aquatic
Animal Health Code
2.11. The Aquatic Animal Health Standards Commission continued its work to
progress items on its work programme. The Commission will propose for adoption
at the 91st General Session in May 2024, thirty-five revised
texts of the Aquatic Code, notably
the revision of Article X.X.3. of all amphibian, fish and mollusc
disease-specific chapters and most crustacean disease-specific chapters, and
the revision of Article X.X.2., susceptible species, for three disease-specific
chapters, as well as the listing of infection with infectious spleen and kidney
necrosis virus species.
2.12. The Commission also progressed work on new and revised chapters that
will be circulated for comments in its February 2024 report, including a
discussion paper on the revision of Chapter 4.3. Application of
compartmentalisation and new chapters: Chapter 4.X. Emergency disease
preparedness; Chapter 4.Y. Disease outbreak management; Chapter 4.Z. Control of
pathogenic agents in traded milt and fertilized eggs of fish; and Chapter 5.X.
Movement of ornamental aquatic animals.
2.4 Manual
of Diagnostic Tests for Aquatic Animals
2.13. The Aquatic Animals Commission continued its work to update and
reformat the disease-specific chapters of the Aquatic
Manual to ensure they provide current guidance. The Commission will
propose five comprehensively revised chapters (Chapter 2.2.2. Infection with Aphanomyces astaci; Chapter 2.2.6.
Infection with Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus;
Chapter 2.2.9. Infection with yellow head virus genotype 1; Chapter 2.4.1.
Infection with abalone herpesvirus; Chapter 2.4.4. Infection with Marteilia refringens) for adoption in May
2024. One new Chapter 2.2.X. Infection with decapod iridescent virus 1 [DIV1]
will also be proposed for adoption.
3 WOAH Standards Online
Navigation Tool
3.1. WOAH has launched a project aimed at improving how WOAH Standards
are displayed and made available to members and other users. The project will
enhance the display of the Aquatic Code,
Terrestrial Code, Aquatic Manual and Terrestrial Manual on the WOAH website.
The project will also include a specific tool aimed at providing specific
search functions for the visualisation of sanitary measures recommended for the
international trade of commodities.
3.2. The project is aligned with WOAH's 7th Strategic Plan and
will provide significant benefits for WOAH members, including enhanced
accessibility to WOAH Standards and efficiency in information retrieval,
supporting the implementation of WOAH Standards. The project will also bring
benefits to the Organisation itself, by improving the efficiency of internal
processes and the interoperability across various datasets related to WOAH
Standards. The project is expected to be completed by July 2024.
4 Provision of scientific
advice to the WOAH and its Members
4.1. The Director General establishes ad hoc Groups to provide specific
technical and scientific advice required to support the work of the WOAH and
the WOAH Specialist Commissions. WOAH publishes information on its website
providing the dates and terms of reference of proposed ad hoc Groups as well as
reports once these have been validated and considered by the relevant
Specialist Commissions. This information is available on the WOAH website at: ad
hoc Groups information.
4.2. Two permanent WOAH Working Groups, Wildlife and AMR, also provide
specific technical and scientific advice required to support the work of WOAH
and the WOAH Specialist Commissions. Information and report of these Working
Groups is available on the WOAH website at: Working
Groups & Reports: OIE - World Organisation for Animal Health.
5 Self-declared Disease
Status
5.1. In accordance with the provisions of the Terrestrial Code or the Aquatic
Code, WOAH members may wish to self-declare the freedom of their
country, zone or compartment from an OMSA listed disease. A member wishing to
publish its self-declaration for disease-freedom, should provide the relevant
documented evidence of compliance with the provisions of the relevant chapters
of the Codes. WOAH screens any
applications and considers them for publication in accordance with its Standard
Operating Procedure.
5.2. All published self-declarations are available on the WOAH website
at: Self-declared
Disease Status - WOAH - World Organisation for Animal Health.
6 Official WOAH
recognition of animal health status and control programmes of Members
6.1. WOAH members can apply to be granted official recognition of animal
health status for foot and mouth disease (FMD), African horse sickness (AHS),
classical swine fever (CSF), contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), peste
des petits ruminants (PPR) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) risk
status as well as the endorsement of official control programmes for CBPP, FMD,
PPR and dog-mediated rabies.
6.2. The _full
list of countries and their recognised status for AHS, BSE, CBPP, CSF, FMD, and
PPR can be accessed on the WOAH website.
7 Monitoring
implementation of WOAH international standards – WOAH Observatory
7.1. The WOAH Observatory is delighted to announce that its first thematic
study on zoning (regionalization) was published in January 2024. Following
a survey answered by 65% of its members, this document shares a descriptive
analysis of the use, challenges and impact of zoning for three priority
diseases: avian influenza, African swine fever and foot and mouth disease. The report
is accompanied by a one-page
executive summary. More in-depth analysis is ongoing to further explore the
factors influencing the acceptance of zones by trade partners; it should be
published later in 2024.
7.2. The Observatory thematic studies collect and use new and existing
data to provide a detailed understanding of the level of implementation of one
or more standards and challenges WOAH members may face when implementing them.
This allows WOAH to identify the specific needs of members and propose targeted
recommendations to meet these. Two other topics are currently under study: the
use, challenge and impact of compartmentalisation, and animal welfare during
transport by land and by sea.
7.3. These thematic studies complete a regular monitoring report which
provides a global perspective of members' implementation of standards. The first
report was published in early January 2023. The second edition is
expected early 2025 and will then be published every five years, coinciding
with the preparation of WOAH's five-year Strategic Plan.
8 Global strategy for
prevention and control of HPAI
8.1. WOAH in collaboration with FAO through the Global Framework for the
Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADs) mechanism
established a HPAI Task Force to initiate a revision of the Global strategy for
prevention and control of HPAI, which was last updated in October 2008.
The draft HPAI Global strategy (2024 to 2033) is currently undergoing a
consultation and commenting process with WOAH members and stakeholders. Once
finalized, communication and launch options will be agreed and implemented by
WOAH and FAO.
9 Global initiative for
the global control of African swine fever
9.1. In January 2020, WOAH, in collaboration with FAO under the Global
Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases
(GF-TADs), launched a joint initiative for the Global Control of African Swine
Fever (ASF GI) aimed at bringing stakeholders from multiple sectors together to
improve coordination and galvanise the sustained effort and political will
needed for the global control of ASF. WOAH is also implementing a monitoring
and evaluation framework to measure the progress of the ASF GI.
9.2. Important activities under the ASF GI include ongoing meetings of
the regional Standing Group of Experts (SGE) in Africa,
Europe
and Asia-Pacific
to enhance regional coordination of ASF control activities. To facilitate
cooperation and dialogue across the SGE-ASF, the Global Coordination Committee
for ASF was launched at the margins of the 90th General Session
where priority areas were identified to guide future activities.
9.3. Noting the interest and use by countries of candidate vaccines for
ASF, WOAH has drafted an international standard for the development and
manufacture of safe and effective ASF vaccines which was circulated for
comments in the Biological Standards Commission's September 2023 report. WOAH
advocates for the importance of using only high-quality vaccines with proven
efficacy and safety, which have been subject to regulatory evaluation and
approval in accordance with WOAH international standards.
10 Antimicrobial resistance
10.1. As a complement to the eighth WOAH annual report on antimicrobial agents
intended for use in animals, published in May 2023, WOAH carried out a
survey among the 20% of WOAH members still using antimicrobials as growth
promoters. Results suggest that 76% of them did not carry out any preliminary
risk analysis, despite this type of analysis being indicated in the Global Plan of
Action on AMR, and the recommendations of WOAH's
list of Antimicrobials of Veterinary Importance. Of concern was that
11% of WOAH members still use as growth promoters at least one of the highest
priority critically important antimicrobials for human medicine, such as
colistin. Given these findings and the commitments made by WOAH members in
2016, WOAH released a statement
during the World AMR Awareness Week in November 2023, calling on its members to
restrict the use of antimicrobials solely to veterinary medical use, and to
actively engage in dialogue with the concerned parties to achieve a total ban
on the use of antimicrobials as growth promoters, starting with those that are
critically important for human health.
10.2. WOAH has released the publication WOAH/FAO regional
guidelines for monitoring Antimicrobial Use at the farm level for the Asia
and the Pacific Region. WOAH has also launched work to develop guidelines on
monitoring antimicrobial use in aquaculture at field level, in line with WOAH
standards with the final version expected to be published later in 2024.
11 Emergency management
11.1. WOAH has been working jointly with INTERPOL and FAO to build
national, regional, and international capacity in emergency management against
all hazards. Initial findings have found that many countries do not have access
to adequate resources to implement emergency response plans; in many countries,
cross government emergency management mechanisms do not include Veterinary
Services; what is considered an emergency varies between countries depending on
its level of development, livestock industry structure and if any export
markets.
11.2. WOAH is currently working on the development of an incident
management system (IMS) to support WOAH HQ and regional/sub-regional
representations with consistent, coherent, and optimal response to
international emergencies that impact animal health. Once the IMS is developed
WOAH will develop guidance for WOAH members for the design and implementation
of an IMS at national level.
11.3. WOAH continues to work on tools to support members with specific
elements on biological threat reduction and guidance on how to manage
misinformation and disinformation.
11.4. WOAH will be hosting a Global Conference on Biological Threat
Reduction in November 2025.
12 The Performance of
Veterinary Services Pathway (PVS Pathway) for the sustainable improvement of
national Veterinary Services
12.1 PVS Information System
12.1. WOAH has launched the innovation PVS Information System (PVS IS)
which will provide easy access to historical data and insights contained in PVS
reports. For the first time WOAH is using natural language processing and
machine learning, and a key result of this novel approach is insight into the
most common recommendations, strengths, and weaknesses of the Veterinary
Services across the globe.
12.2. WOAH has migrated all essential information from more than 210 PVS
Evaluation and Follow‑up Reports to its secure transactional database that
allows for a systematic analysis of PVS trends.
12.3. From May 2024, all WOAH Delegates will have access to the newly
developed PVS IS.
12.2 PVS Pathway Impact
Evaluation Survey
12.4. WOAH developed an evaluation survey to assess the
performance of the PVS Pathway Programme. Preliminary results show that 93% of Delegates surveyed were
satisfied with the recommendations made in PVS Reports. Preliminary results can
be accessed at PVS
Pathway Recommendations Impact Evaluation.
12.3 PVS Pathway during 2023
12.5. During 2023, the PVS Pathway Programme undertook 64 PVS activities,
including a successful pilot of a newly developed methodology for specific ASF
content; an increase in PVS Aquatic Evaluations or Follow-Up missions; Targeted
Support programmes for Workforce Development; Public-Private-Partnerships;
Veterinary Paraprofessional curricula analysis missions and IHR-PVS National
Bridging Workshops; and one rabies focused NBW was conducted.
12.6. More details can be found on the WOAH website at PVS
Pathway.
13 WOAH Training Platform:
Veterinary Services competencies for trade
13.1. In the ongoing development of the WOAH Competency-based Training
Framework, progress has been made with the completion of the first of ten
e-learning modules on the International Trade Regulatory Framework.
13.2. WOAH is also in the process of developing a framework for assessing
the educational requirements of the global veterinary workforce to ensure that
WOAH trainings align with current needs and the strategic objectives of WOAH members
that facilitate a systematic approach to enhance the capabilities of Veterinary
Services worldwide.
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