OIE training of Focal Points for Veterinary Products (cycle V) English

Besides OIE regional (Gaborone, Nairobi) and head office staff (Science and New Technologies Department, Paris) contributions were made by four OIE Reference Centres on veterinary products (ANSES France, AU-PANVAC Ethiopia, LACOMEV Senegal and FDA United States), as well as invited regional and international experts from South Africa (on behalf of the World Customs Organisation, the Medicines Control Council, and the University of Pretoria), from Belgium (on behalf of HealthforAnimals), Uganda (on behalf of Makerere University) and Ethiopia (on behalf of the African Union Pan-African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign)

The two “One Health” tripartite partners of the OIE were represented by WHO AFRO (Brazzaville), as well as FAO Harare (SFS).

The opening ceremony was held at the Happy Valley Hotel and Conference Centre, and was officiated by the Hon. Minister of Agriculture, H.E. Moses Vilakati who delivered an opening address, alongside Drs. Moetapele Letshwenyo and Elisabeth Erlacher-Vindel (OIE) and Dr. Roland Xolani Dlamini, OIE Delegate of Swaziland and Director of Veterinary and Livestock Services.

Most of the first day of the workshop was directed to newly appointed Focal Points, providing a rapid overview on the OIE and its activities related to veterinary products covered in previous training sessions. This enabled newly appointed Focal Points to be adequately informed on the OIE and the main standards, guidelines, VICH and issues pertaining to veterinary products.

The subsequent sessions covered :

• Registration/authorisation of veterinary medicinal products with updates on the VICH Outreach Forum activities, experiences from Member Countries in the application of these VICH guidelines, an overview of registration/authorisation systems of drugs and vaccines in the Africa region and a follow-up of the recommendations of the joint GALVMED / OIE workshop on harmonisation of the registration of veterinary medicinal products in the SADC region (May 2017, Johannesburg).
• Antimicrobial use and resistance, including updates on the high-level UN Resolution and Tripartite activities on AMR (the Global Action Plan) by representatives of WHO, FAO and OIE, with a particular focus on the implementation of the AMR national action plans in African countries, with testimony from three African countries (Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Sudan).
• Regarding the specific topic of antimicrobial use in animals, results of the second phase of the OIE collection of quantitative data on the use of antimicrobial agents in animals were presented by the OIE, followed by practical exercises on the third phase of the OIE data collection on antimicrobial agents intended for use in animals and strategies to improve on the possible reporting options (more detail).
• Already partly covered in the previous training cycle, anti-parasitic use and resistance became even more prominent in this training course, with contributions on the development of antiparasitic resistance in Africa, a growing concern for sustainable livestock production, and specific contributions on specific categories (anthelmintics, trypanocides and acaricides. The session was concluded with a panel discussion on whether OIE should consider developing Standards and Guidelines on prudent and responsible use of antiparasitics, and to what extent this would be relevant for Africa.
• The last session, focusing on the quality of veterinary drugs, included for the first time a valued contribution from the World Customs Organisation (WCO), with which the OIE signed a Cooperation Agreement in 2015, and was represented by the South African Revenue Service, SARS). Other contributors from OIE Collaborating Centres (ANSES and LACOMEV) and the pharmaceutical industry (Health for Animals) also focused on the quality and traceability of veterinary medicinal products, the state of counterfeit / illegal veterinary medicines worldwide and in Africa, in particular.

All the sessions led to constructive discussions of a high level, including information and experience sharing among countries, in part through interactive working group sessions. It enabled countries to come up with practical proposals, e.g. develop a document on general principles of prudent and responsible use of anti-parasitics, strengthen the collaboration at national, regional and international level, discussing and sharing templates for the authorisation of veterinary medicines, etc….