A MAJOR offensive aimed at bringing foot and mouth disease (FMD) under global control was launched July 23 by the Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
According to FAO chief veterinary officer Joseph Domenech, "The FMD situation worldwide merits the attention of the international community and donors.
"It needs to be controlled at source - and step by step."
International approaches, he says, are needed on the lines of the successful FAO-led Global Rinderpest Eradication Program (GREP), launched in 1994.
GREP has resulted in the elimination of a major devastating disease in cattle.
Regional FMD programs will reflect local contexts and diversity as different types of FMD viruses circulate in different regions and will serve as the basis for the definition of the global campaign.
The regional roadmaps will build on the Progressive Control Pathway (PCP) approach promoted by FAO and presented at an earlier meeting, which initiated and confirmed the project.
This provides a framework for organising actions and investments at country to regional level.
It measures the progress of participating countries against the disease on a scale of 0-5.
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