The Community-based Management of AHI in Asia newsletter was initiated by the AHI-NGO-RC/RC Asia Partnership, comprised of the IFRC, CARE, and IRC and funded by the Asian Development Bank. The newsletter shares lessons learned with NGOs and other international organizations using participatory, community-based methods to manage avian influenza in high-risk areas. The full newsletter for April can be viewed here: http://www.adpc.net/communityAHI%2DAsia/eLib/Library-files/AHI/Meeting-2008-103/Regional%20Community4.pdf.
In June 2008, the partnership will be releasing a toolkit for community-based work aiming to strengthen community-based prevention and control of H5N1 in Asia by "highlighting experiences in community-based management of (H5N1) in Asia through the collation of case studies and the identification of key issues." The toolkit will be available in June at this link:
www.adpc.net/communityAHI-Asia/
Below are some truncated highlights from this month's case study about the FAO's work in Indonesia:
"PARTICIPATORY TOOLS AS A MEANS TO EMPOWER COMMUNITIES TO PREVENT AND CONTROL HPAI IN INDONESIA’ "
FAO in Indonesia has been working with the Ministry of Agriculture and local governments to establish the Participatory Disease Surveillance and Response (PDSR) system, a village poultry HPAI prevention and control programme nationally coordinated via provincial-level Local Disease Control Center (LDCCs). The general concept is that participatory tools and processes serve as a platform for the rapid mobilization and coordination of animal health services in a community-based Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) control programme.
With rapid detection and response to HPAI outbreaks in village poultry considered key to bringing the disease under control in Indonesia, the PDSR project was piloted in early 2006 to train and operationally support government veterinarians and other animal health officers in a participatory disease control programme for village poultry enabling rapid detection and response. By the end of May 2008, the project will have approximately 2,100 fully operational PDSR officers, with local support provided by provincial-level LDCCs.
The major outcome of the project so far has been a significant strengthening of veterinary services – i.e. increased technical expertise as well as increased technical and operational capacity to conduct activities in the field.
The project has also facilitated direct engagement of communities with local government livestock services, improved national coordination between national and local governments, increased awareness of AI at the community level, improved detection and response to HPAI outbreaks, facilitated HPAI prevention and control activities by communities and the government, and increased the overall understanding of HPAI disease epidemiology.
Some Lessons Identified for Community-Based Management of AHI
The PDSR project recognized that the optimal disease control unit is the village, not the household. Furthermore, due to the endemic nature of the disease as well as the lack of immediate compensation for culled flocks, PDSR teams face significant challenges in maintaining their relations with communities.
Perhaps the most significant lesson identified so far is that village poultry are not ‘the problem’: controlling HPAI does not require ‘fixing’ a problem with village poultry, but rather protecting them as a means to ensure healthy and economically viable villages and communities.
Stakeholders now understand that the role of commercial producers in maintaining and spreading poultry disease should not be underestimated.
Link to full newsletter: http://www.adpc.net/communityAHI%2DAsia/eLib/Library-files/AHI/Meeting-2008-103/Regional%20Community4.pdf
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