The Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer (OCVO) has a long history of working with Australia’s near neighbours to deliver priority animal health outcomes. Through regional programs in the Pacific, Papua New Guinea, and Soloman Islands, OCVO delivers targeted capacity building initiatives to improve regional biosecurity, food security, animal health, production and welfare.
Coordination and collaboration are central to sustainable development in the Pacific. In recognition of this, OCVO funded reactivation of the Pacific Heads of Veterinary and Animal Production Services (PHOVAPS) network, in partnership with the Pacific Community and the World Organisation for Animal Health. As the key regional decision-making body on animal health and biosecurity matters, PHOVAPS includes representation from all 22 Pacific Island countries and territories, as well as Australia, New Zealand, UK, USA and France.
The reactivated network recently held its first in-person meeting in Nadi, Fiji. Key outcomes of the successful meeting included a newly elected PHOVAPS Council and a two-year workplan with clearly identified priorities. Participants identified the need to increase veterinary and paraveterinary capacity in the Pacific as a key regional priority, along with strengthening functional animal disease surveillance systems, and enhancing skills in livestock production, husbandry, safe animal slaughter and meat inspection processes. OCVO will continue to build genuine partnerships in the Pacific in line with the agenda set by Pacific nations through PHOVAPS.
Building upon existing work with Papua New Guinea’s National Agriculture and Quarantine Inspection Authority (NAQIA), OCVO and NAQIA officers travelled to Paho island in November to train village rangers in animal disease identification and reporting using the collaboratively developed National Animal Health Information System. This ongoing collaboration with NAQIA and village rangers acts as an early warning system for animal disease in an area that has close cultural connection to the Torres Strait.
Increased animal health and biosecurity capacity is a high priority for Solomon Islands who recently hosted the 2023 Pacific Games. OCVO officers spent four weeks in October undertaking pre-Games animal disease surveys with Solomon Islands Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. They plan to return in early 2024 to support post-Games surveillance. These collaborative surveillance activities are also building biosecurity systems and animal health capacity through training of livestock officers, extension staff and farmers to recognise and effectively respond to signs of animal diseases.
