Nairobi, Kenya
Downloads : speeches
November 26, 2024
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Towards a more resilient veterinary workforce for Africa 2024 (Continental Conference)
WOAH and partners hosted the Africa Continental Conference: Towards a more resilient veterinary workforce for Africa 2024 (“the Africa Continental Conference”) to take stock of progress, share regional experiences, and motivate Members for further investments in workforce development. The Conference was held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Upper Hill, Nairobi, Kenya from 26-28 November 2024.
The Africa Continental Conference showcased WOAH’s 100 years and built on WOAH’s engagement in the use of foresight methods for exploring implications and anticipating ‘what is next’ for the Organisation and its Members.
The conference was attended by 187 participants, including representatives of national veterinary authorities, veterinary and veterinary paraprofessional associations, veterinary and veterinary paraprofessional education establishments, and/or veterinary statutory bodies from the following African countries:
62% of registered and attending participants were men (n=116), whilst women (n=71) represented 38 % of participants.
Titilayo Ayodele, International Veterinary Student's Association (IVSA), Ilorin, Nigeria. Picture (c) P. Bastiaensen (woah) 2024. Titilayo Ayodele, Association internationale des étudiants vétérinaires (IVSA), Ilorin, Nigeria. Photo (c) P. Bastiaensen (omsa) 2024
The three day conference comprehensive programme balanced high-level presentations, practical workshops, and participatory discussions to address the multifaceted challenges and opportunities in veterinary services across Africa. Overall, 6 special events in the plenary sessions; 4 parallel thematic sessions and 2 round table discussions were organised. Six plenary sessions were held. After the high level official opening there were four other plenary special events spread over the three days.
These included the Global and regional perspectives, Youth perspectives on workforce futures, the Launch of the WOAH Competency and Curriculum Guidelines for CAHWs; the Introduction to the GALVmed Workshop; the Launch of the Africa PPP Forum as well as the Closing ceremony and the reading of the conference recommendations.
The thematic sessions focused on the different aspects around:
The participatory round tables presented parallel regional discussions by geographic areas (West- Central, Eastern, Southern and North Africa) as well as for different categories and cadres of veterinary paraprofessionals with topics such as Surveillance and field activities, Challenges and opportunities in the use of antimicrobials in the field; Animal welfare, as well as Meat inspection and laboratory services.
Launch of the Africa PPP Forum in the veterinary domain (thematic session) with discussion group involving CVOs, private companies, AU-PANVAC, AU-IBAR, and WOAH. Picture (c) L. Iyadi (woah) 2024. Lancement du Forum Africain de PPP dans le domaine vétérinaire (session thématique) avec un groupe de discussion impliquant les DSV, les entreprises privées, l'UA-PANVAC, l'UA-BIRA et l'OMSA. Photo (c) L. Iyadi (omsa) 2024.
A participant's feedback
The main side event was the General Assembly of the African Association of Veterinary Education Establishments (A2E2-V), which was facilitated by WOAH and AU-IBAR, as a hybrid meeting, on Wednesday 27 November. The Assembly of the 2A2E-V agreed to take this organisation on a new trajectory, by adopting important resolutions that will ensure the sustainability of the association.
New regional representatives were elected in order to stimulate more communication between Veterinary Education Establishments on the continent. The new Executive Committee, duly appointed by the General Assembly took office with immediate effect:
President: Prof Noursaid Tligui from Hassan II Institute in Rabat, Morocco
1st Vice President: Prof John Mande from the University of Nairobi, Kenya
2nd Vice President: Prof Yalace Kaboret from the Insterstates School of Science and Veterinary Medicine (EISMV) in Dakar, Senegal
Secretary General: Dr Thoko Kapalamula from LUANAR (Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources) in Malawi
Treasurer: Prof Patient Pyana Pati from the National Pedagogic University in the DRC
Member for North Africa: Prof Mohamed Ghanem from Benha University in Egypt
Member for West Africa: Prof Olefunke Ola-Davies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Member for East Africa: Prof Abdelrahim Ali from the University of West Kordofan in Sudan
Member for Southern Africa: Dr Anna Marais from the University of Namibia
Session presenter Barbara Alessandrini (WOAH Capacity-Building Department) informed participants that the process of coming up with recommendations was a two-step process. The first step was consultations that were done during preparations for the Conference. The second step involved picking up reviews, views, and suggested recommendations throughout the 3 days of the Conference that emanated from the various Conference sessions. She then ushered in a panel of selected participants to read the consolidated recommendations from the Conference. The draft recommendations will be validated in the following days and are structure around the following 10 domains:
The Conference was attended by WOAH Delegates (or their accredited representatives, DA) from 30 Members:
From left to right : Dr Karim Tounkara, WOAH Regional Representative for Africa, Dr Neo Mapitse, WOAH Sub-Regional Representative for Eastern Africa, Dr Huyam Salih, Director of AU-IBAR, Dr Carolin Schumacher, CEO of GALVmed and Dr Christopher Wanga, Director of Livestock Policy and Research of the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. Picture (c) L. Iyadi (woah) 2024.
Irene Gichingiri, Kenya Women Veterinary Paraprofessional Association, Nairobi, Kenya. Picture (c) P. Bastiaensen (woah) 2024. Irene Gichingiri, Kenya Women Veterinary Paraprofessional Association, Nairobi, Kenya. Photo (c) P. Bastiaensen (omsa) 2024.
Hung Nguyen, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Kabete, Nairobi, Kenya. Picture (c) P. Bastiaensen (woah) 2024.
Cleophas Mbah, University of Ngaoundere, Ngaoundere, Cameroon. Picture (c) P. Bastiaensen (woah) 2024.
David Sherman, Senior Programme Officer Veterinary Legislation, WOAH. Picture (c) P. Bastiaensen (woah) 2024.
Nandipha Toyota Ndudane, Chair, South African Veterinary Council and representative of the World Veterinary Association. Picture (c) P. Bastiaensen (woah) 2024.
Honoré N'Lemba Mabela, President of the WOAH Regional Commission for Africa and Delegate of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Picture (c) P. Bastiaensen (woah) 2024.
Aishatu Abubakar Baju, Chair, Veterinary Council of Nigeria. Picture (c) P. Bastiaensen (woah) 2024.
