ISLAMABAD: Because trans-boundary animal diseases (TADs) are causing devastating economic losses in South Asian countries, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to establish a framework for impro­ved cooperation among member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) to combat the diseases.

According to an ADB report, trade in livestock and livestock products, including huge informal trade, is one of the major reasons for the spread of the high-impact diseases in the ‘land-linked’ South Asian countries.

The diseases have threatened food security in the region through reduction in the quantity and quality of food and losses in animal protein. The outbreak of the diseases in the region has killed a large number of animals, threatening the livelihood of poor people. The impact of the diseases on the incomes of poor households is not only felt locally and nationally but also within the region, the report says.

The TADs — such as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), foot and mouth disease (FMD) and peste des petits ruminants (PPR) or goat plague — are seriously impeding trade opportunities in livestock and livestock products in the region.

TAD outbreaks cause huge morbidity and mortality in sheep, goats and poultry, with significant disruption of trade in meat and dairy products. The diseases seriously affect the livelihoods of smallholder livestock farmers, who represent a large population in the region, the report says.

The ADB has cautioned that despite developing an institutional structure, activities by Saarc to curb the TADs are not effective because of limited technical capacity and organisational weaknesses. The regional framework for combating the diseases is weak and regional strategies and guidelines are not fully harmonised.

Saarc undertook regional initiatives in 2010 through a project on highly pathogenic and emerging diseases fun­ded by the European Union. Under the project, a regional support unit and an epidemiology laboratory have been established in Nepal.

Leading regional diagnostic laboratories have been strengthened in Bangladesh for goat plague, India for foot and mouth disease and Pakistan for highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The institutional structure developed under the EU funding needs to be strengthened and sustained with technical assistance by the ADB for two years before Saarc formally takes it over.

The ADB has suggested the strengthening of regional and national animal health information and surveillance systems. It says animal management agencies in public and private sectors need to be better equipped to provide specialist assistance in controlling the TADs.

The ADB says Saarc’s TAD initiatives still lag behind well-established regional TAD activities such as the Asean programme, which has achieved significant progress in combating the diseases, particularly HPAI, FMD and classical swine fever.

Under the ADB assistance, an expanded regional and national animal health information and surveillance system will be created which will focus on mapping regional animal movements, preparing optimal TAD control options for smallholder farmers and developing regional and national reporting systems and a surveillance system.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2014