Open AccessGlobal Control of African swine fever. A GF-TADs initiative – 2020 annual report
Publication year - 2021
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.20506/asf.3011
Subject(s) - african swine fever , pandemic , disease control , covid-19 , economic growth , control (management) , african swine fever virus , political science , epizootic , momentum (technical analysis) , business , environmental planning , geography , environmental health , disease , medicine , virology , outbreak , infectious disease (medical specialty) , economics , finance , management , virus , pathology
The current African swine fever epizootic is a major global crisis, directly and indirectly impacting the pig industry and rural communities worldwide. In 2019, FAO and the OIE designated ASF as a global priority transboundary animal disease under the GF-TADs, and in July 2020 they released a jointly developed programme to control the disease worldwide – ‘Global Control of African Swine Fever: A GF-TADs Initiative’ (The Global Initiative). In 2020, ASF virus continued to spread and the COVID-19 pandemic impacted field activities. However, global, regional and national stakeholders strove to maintain momentum in the control of ASF, in line with the objectives of the Global Initiative. Despite difficulties, some countries managed to eliminate the disease from their territories, indicating that ASF control is feasible with current tools. The Global Initiative identifies coordination at regional and global levels as key to enhancing national control programmes. It allows countries with similar socio-economic and epidemiological situations to share information, challenges and best practices, and to discuss regional solutions and approaches to enhancing control.