Disease Prioritization Exercise for the East African Community (EAC)
Kigali, Rwanda 11th-17th May 2015
A regional disease prioritization exercise for the East African Community (EAC) was organized from 11th to 17th May 2015, at Sports View Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda. The exercise involved experts from veterinary services, public health and wildlife from all the EAC partner states namely Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, EAC secretariat and AU-IBAR.
The meeting was officially opened by Dr. Theogen Rutagwenda, Director General of Animal Resources in the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Republic of Rwanda. The EAC Secretariat and AU-IBAR remarks were delivered by Dr. William Olaho Mukani and Dr. Samuel Muriuki respectively
The objectives of the disease prioritization exercise are:
- To undertake prioritization of transboundary animal diseases (TADs) and zoonoses at national level for all partner states
- To undertake prioritization of TADs and zoonoses at regional level
- To categorize different TADs and zoonoses and identify/propose options (including resourcing) for their effective control at national and regional levels
- To identify/propose potential roles for different stakeholders in the management of TADs and zoonoses
- The outcomes of the regional prioritization exercise were:
- A list of priority diseases for every EAC partner states produced;
- A list of priority diseases for the EAC region produced;
- Categorization of disease control interventions at partner states' and regional levels;
- Definition of the roles of different stakeholders.