A Snapshot of Veterinary Education Establishments and Veterinary Statutory Bodies in Asia and the Pacific Region: Issues Identified and OIE Activities to Address Them.

Veterinary education establishments (VEEs) and veterinary statutory bodies (VSBs) play key roles in ensuring the effectiveness of veterinary professionals and delivery of competent national veterinary services (VS). Recognizing the need to address the quality of veterinary education and the role of VSBs for its member countries/territories (Members), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has organized conferences, workshops, and ad hoc groups leading to the development of recommendations and guidelines and the introduction of active programmers on veterinary education. In Asia and the Pacific region, veterinary education and practice as well as regulatory approach among Members vary considerably, and limited information is currently available publicly. In 2018, the OIE organized a workshop for VEEs and VSBs in Asia and the Pacific region, for which participants completed a questionnaire regarding each country's situation relating to veterinary education, regulations, and professionals. The questionnaire results showed that most Members and Observers (Members/Observers) in Asia had at least one VEE and that the OIE guidelines for VEEs are widely used. Similarly, most Members/Observers in Asia had a VSB or equivalent authority that oversees the quality and competence of veterinarians. Some challenges were also revealed, including variations in the roles, responsibilities, and level of autonomy of VSBs and weak collaboration/coordination among the key in-country/territory stakeholders of veterinary education. The OIE offers Members recommendations and guidelines as well as several programs and activities aiming to strengthen the VS, VEEs, and VSBs, including the evaluation of veterinary services' performance, the VEE and VSB twinning projects, and conferences and workshops.

Operationalization of One Health and tripartite collaboration in the Asia-Pacific region.

One Health refers to the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals and our environment. The One Health approach is increasingly popular in the context of growing threats from emerging zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and climate change. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Organisation for Animal Health and World Health Organization have been working together in the wake of the avian influenza crisis in the Asia-Pacific region to provide strong leadership to endorse the One Health concept and promote interagency and intersectoral collaboration. The programme on highly pathogenic emerging diseases in Asia (2009-2014) led to the establishment of a regional tripartite coordination mechanism in the Asia-Pacific region to support collaboration between the animal and human health sectors. The remit of this mechanism has expanded to include other priority One Health challenges, such as antimicrobial resistance and food safety. The mechanism has helped to organize eight Asia-Pacific workshops on multisectoral collaboration for the prevention and control of zoonoses since 2010, facilitating advocacy and operationalization of One Health at regional and country levels. The tripartite group and international partners have developed several One Health tools, which are useful for operationalization of One Health at the country level. Member States are encouraged to develop a One Health strategic framework taking into account the country's context and priorities.