Dr Mark Schipp on the Global Agriculture Leadership Initiative

_{Image (L - R): Dr Raana Asgar, Dr Katherine Gregory and Melanie Allan (credit: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry)}

Global Agriculture Leadership Initiative

The work of the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer is focused not only on animal health and welfare here in Australia, but involves an important international perspective as well – because animal disease outbreaks which occur elsewhere around the world, have the potential to seriously impact Australia’s biosecurity and agricultural production and trade.

Through investment in the Global Agricultural Leadership Initiative (GALI), the Australian Government is stepping up our leadership in international agriculture and food policy discussions. GALI is focused on strengthening international standards around animal health, welfare, biosecurity, food safety and antimicrobial resistance, and providing support to build animal health capacity within our immediate region.

With these outcomes in mind, the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer (OCVO) is seconding four staff to work overseas – one at the Food and Agriculture Organization Sub-regional Office for the Pacific (FAO SAP) in Samoa and three at the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) headquarters in France. These GALI secondments will contribute to enhancing Australia’s global reputation and leadership on animal health and agricultural trade, along with increasing engagement in multilateral institutions and strengthening relationships with key partners.

FAO in Samoa

As part of this program Dr Raana Asgar will be based at the FAO SAP in Apia, Samoa. The FAO SAP is a technical hub which supports 14 countries in the Pacific region and works with national governments and other stakeholders, including our department, to identify priority areas for national and regional assistance.

In her role, Dr Asgar will enhance the delivery of scientific and technical support to Pacific Island countries through increasing institutional capacity and One Health expertise. She will also support the development of capacities of national livestock departments across the Pacific to respond to emerging animal health and production threats and develop and implement FAO SAP’s work programme to address agriculture, nutrition and rural development priorities.

Dr Asgar graduated as a veterinarian in Australia and began her career in Fiji as a government veterinary officer in the Fiji Ministry of Agriculture in various roles, including acting as Fiji's Chief Veterinary Officer. She has also worked as a consultant for the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and commercial animal industries in the Pacific before migrating to Australia, where she has worked for the department in senior positions in animal health, biosecurity and trade and One Health. Dr Asgar shared the following about her secondment to Samoa.

“As a Pacific Islander and the Pacific region’s first female veterinarian, I’m excited at the opportunity to return to the Pacific to contribute to enhancing animal health, One Health and biosecurity in the region. Pacific countries have highlighted an urgent need for support in animal health, given limitations in veterinary and general animal health capacity and associated infrastructure across the region. This support is increasingly critical in light of the current animal biosecurity risks facing the region, and because livestock play a critical role in the Pacific, not just for economic and food security, but also for cultural and religious reasons”, said Dr Asgar.

WOAH in France

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) is recognised as the global authority on animal health that works with government partners to coordinate the global response to animal health emergencies, prevent zoonotic diseases and promote animal health and welfare.

We are sending three secondees to support the important work of WOAH at their headquarters in Paris, France, in the areas of international animal health standard setting and the implementation of these standards.

Dr Katherine Gregory will be working in a small team to implement the WOAH Observatory project, which aims to progressively monitor the implementation of WOAH’s international standards for animal health and welfare. The WOAH Observatory project is providing information for the first time about the extent to which these standards have been implemented by WOAH Members worldwide.

Dr Gregory is a veterinarian who is currently undertaking postgraduate study in veterinary epidemiology and public health. During her career, she has worked as a clinical veterinarian in Australia and the United Kingdom, and over the past four years, Dr Gregory has worked for the department in roles relating to biosecurity, international animal health and international strategy. She shared the following insight into her new role.

“I am looking forward to working with staff across multiple areas of WOAH to analyse different data sources about the global uptake of WOAH’s standards, and identify and analyse challenges faced by Members relating to these standards. The WOAH Observatory project will enable WOAH to improve their standard setting process, ensure that standards remain relevant and fit for purpose, better support WOAH Members to implement standards, and develop a more strategic focus to its capacity building activities. As a life-long francophile, I am also very excited to have the opportunity to live in Paris and put my high-school French to use!”, said Dr Gregory.

Another secondee to also be based at WOAH in Paris, is Ms Melanie Allan who will be providing support for the implementation of the WOAH Aquatic Animal Health Strategy (AAHS). The AAHS is aiming to improve aquatic animal health world-wide and recognises the growing importance of aquatic animal health and the need for a strategic approach to its management worldwide. Her role will have a particular focus on identifying barriers to implementation of international standards and supporting national capacity building activities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Ms Allan has a background in zoology and ecology and has worked in various roles across the department over the past decade, including roles in international strategy, aquatic animal health, emergency animal disease preparedness and biosecurity policy. She shared the following about her secondment.

“I am looking forward to being involved in the implementation of WOAH’s first Aquatic Animal Health Strategy to improve aquatic animal health and welfare worldwide, while living and working in Paris. I am also looking forward to building valuable connections and networks across WOAH as well as other international and regional intergovernmental organisations”, said Ms Allan.

The third secondee, who is starting in their new role later this year also based at WOAH in Paris, will provide support to WOAH on foreign policy issues, strengthening the organisation as the international authority on issues relating to animal health and welfare.

This will include supporting the review of WOAH Basic Texts – the general rules of the organisation, along with improving recognition of the three sister organisations (WOAH, Codex Alimentarius Commission and the International Plant Protection Convention) of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement), supporting WOAH’s role in World Trade Organization (WTO) governance bodies; and contributing to discussions relating to One Health and global health governance.

Together, these GALI secondments will build capacity and strengthen national and regional engagement with international bodies delivering on our commitment through the Commonwealth Biosecurity 2030 Roadmap. Animal diseases don’t respect international borders, and the proximity of Australia and our Pacific neighbours highlights the importance of building animal health capacity in this region to counter the threat of animal diseases spreading.

For more information about this work visit: www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/market-access-trade/global-agriculture-advocacy

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