0
Last Saturday, the 74 Ministers’ delegations participating in the 11th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), to debate digitalisation and smart solutions for future farming, expressed their support to the on-going renovation of the World Animal Health Information System, OIE-WAHIS, acknowledging its key contribution to a more sustainable, responsible and efficient livestock production. They also entrusted the OIE to pursue the implementation of global digital structures promoting an enhanced exchange of information, thereby contributing to strengthen the cross-border fight against animal diseases.
As we enter 2019, the spread of the epizootics of African swine fever (ASF) is an example of the various sanitary concerns with which Veterinary Services and animal health experts have to deal. When confronted with a disease that has such a serious socio-economic impact on countries, especially on the livelihood of pig farmers, the ability to quickly assess the evolution of the situation is key to stem its spread. In this regard, efficient management and control of the disease requires that countries share transparent information about their animal health situation so that it can be made available to the international community in a timely manner.
In view of facilitating the collection and reporting of data, the OIE is currently upgrading the internet-based World Animal Health Information System, OIE-WAHIS, with advanced technologies.
The benefits brought by such a tool were highlighted at the Ministers’ conference convened on Saturday 19 January 2019 in the framework of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture in Berlin, Germany, on the theme "Agriculture Goes Digital – Smart Solutions for Future Farming”. The latter adressed how digitalisation can be leveraged to make agriculture more efficient and more sustainable, and therefore contribute to meet the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The renovated OIE-WAHIS will contribute to the proper implementation of global strategies for the control of animal diseases, such as the joint OIE and FAO strategies for the eradication of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) and foot-and-mouth disease, as well as the joint OIE, WHO and FAO action plan on eradicating dog-mediated rabies. Moreover, it will provide information on the circulation of more than 120 animal diseases reported by around 200 countries. The data will be actively disseminated to the current 12,000 subscribers and accessible to everyone. A modern Geographical Information System and a powerful Business Intelligence tool will also be available to facilitate data visualisation, extraction and analysis.
Monday January 20, 2019/ OIE.
http://www.oie.int
