The 7th Annual Eastern Africa Regional Animal Health Network (EARAHN) Meeting, held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 4-7 Oct 2016

 Background:

The 7th Annual Eastern Africa Regional Animal Health Network (EARAHN) Coordination Meeting was successfully organized and held during the month of October 2016 by IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD) in collaboration with FAO ECTAD Regional Office and AU-IBAR.

FAO and the IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD) have, since 2008, organized annual meetings for regional networks for epidemio-surveillance (EAREN) and laboratory diagnostics (EARLN); and, since 2010, a joint annual meeting was organized for the two regional networks. During the 3^rd joint EAREN & EARLN meeting held in July 2012 in Mombasa, Kenya, country representatives agreed on the need to consolidate the regional epidemio-surveillance and laboratory diagnostics networks under a single sector-wide umbrella, the Regional Animal Health Network (RAHN) including the Chief Veterinary Officers (CVOs).

The following Recommendations were made:

1. Regional animal health network coordination: that the network upgraded to a coordination unit and anchored into IGAD and FAO;
2. Regional Support Laboratory (RSL): that more regional veterinary laboratories be financially and technically supported to handle diagnosis of other priority diseases.
3. Animal disease information sharing and reporting: that national epidemiology network and member countries are urged to revitalize or establish national epidemiology and laboratory networks for enhanced information sharing and reporting;
4. One Health: that OH programming be linked to the Global Health Security Agenda and FAO-EPT2 to promote animal, public and environmental health in the region;
5. Funding: that a strategy is needed to attract more funding from member states (MS), technical and development partners  and all projects being currently designed include components to support the network at national and regional levels;
6. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR): that all the countries embark on development of their AMR national AMR Action Plan and that Fleming Fund eligible countries take advantage of it;
7. Regional programmes: that countries share their PPR implementation progress, experiences and challenges as per the OIE/FAO PPR GCES;
8. New networks: that consultations be made for possibility of Animal Production and Animal Welfare Networks being presented to the next 8th EARAHN meeting for establishment.