Improving Delivery of Animal Health Services and Disease Surveillance in Iraq (Legislation Training workshop)
14 March 2022
Baghdad, 13-14th March 2022 - 41 government legal advisors and veterinary representatives throughout Iraq participated in the workshop hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) under the title of veterinary legal legislation, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, and within the activities of the Project to Improve Animal Health Service Delivery and Disease Control in Iraq funded by the Defence Threat Reduction Agency American (DTRA). The workshop aimed to introduce regulatory mechanisms for animal disease surveillance and control, import and export of animals and their products, as well as to bridge the gap between animal health services and disease control legislation and its practical application.
The representative of the FAO organization in Iraq, Dr. Salah Al-Hajj Hassan, addressed opening remarks by greeting and thanking the attendees. He affirmed the organization's commitment to adopting modern concepts and values in the "One Health" approach to address health threats to animals, humans, plants and the environment. He added that this workshop provides an opportunity to exchange information and ideas on Iraqi animal health legislation and related regulations and how to move forward in amending them in accordance with OIE and international standards. He also explained that all recommendations will be reviewed for the purpose of their announcement after coordination with the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Representative of his excellency the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Raed Haddad, the legal advisor to the minister conveyed the greetings of his excellency the Minister of Agriculture, in addition to praising the effective cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food and Agriculture Organization and the organization’s role in implementing activities and programs funded by donors to support the agricultural sector in Iraq.
While the head of the Iraqi Veterinarians Syndicate, Dr. Samira Latif, explained the role of FAO in supporting the agricultural sector, both plant and animal, and the importance of holding these specialized training workshops, including this one (Veterinary Legislation).
The legal advisor to the Iraqi Lawyers Syndicate, Mr. Ahmed Majid Al-Hassan, stressed the importance of involving the Association in studies on veterinary legal legislation, thanking the role of the FAO by shedding light on this important issue.
The workshop was attended by the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources/Kurdistan Regional Government, representative of the Syndicate of Veterinarians in Kurdistan, The deans of both veterinary colleges in Baghdad and Duhok, with the participation of officials and representatives of veterinary services from Erbil and Baghdad, in addition to the targeted governorates (Duhok, Nineveh, Anbar, Wasit, Muthanna and Basrah).
The training included of presentations, group work, practical examples and case studies to enrich discussions on elements of veterinary legislation, including animal disease control and animal production, and was supplemented by the exchange of observational experiences and the exchange of information among the participants.
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