Ana Peralta OPS/OMS
This Call to action was released at the Regional Meeting on an Intersectoral Commission for the Prevention and Control of Avian Influenza (and other Zoonotic Influenza) in the Americas held on 12–14 March 2024 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
To effectively manage the escalating threat of Avian Influenza (AI) in the Americas, it is crucial to establish an Intersectoral Commission for guiding decisive actions on prevention, surveillance, preparedness, response, and control. This Call to Action stems from the profound human and economic toll of past pandemics and the expanding occurrence of AI in terms of both affected geographical areas, including ecosystems, and animal species in this Region. Strengthening prevention and control capacities are crucial tasks that require collaborative efforts by public and private stakeholders along the human-animal-environmental interface.
The Call to action is for national authorities and the Pan American Sanitary Bureau (PASB) to establish the Intersectoral Commission for the Prevention and Control of Zoonotic Influenza in the Americas. The support of all relevant stakeholders, including international organizations and subregional mechanisms, is critical to this aim. Under this Call, the PASB shall continue to serve as the convening entity of the Intersectoral Commission.
The Intersectoral Commission aims to foster One Health (OH) at country level, bringing together diverse perspectives and interests to ensure sustainable national and regional early detection, response and control for AI and other zoonotic influenza. PASB shall produce a draft statute of the Intersectoral Commission based on the inputs of the Regional Meeting on the Intersectoral Commission for the Prevention and Control of Avian Influenza (and other Zoonotic Influenza) in the Americas held on 12–14 March 2024 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The draft statute shall be shared with Member States and other relevant stakeholders, including international organizations and subregional mechanisms. All participants of this meeting are urged to facilitate a participative in-country revision of the draft statute of the Intersectoral Commission. In due course, PASB shall submit the proposed statute of the Intersectoral Commission to its Governing Bodies. By working collaboratively within this framework and in the spirit of achieving the establishment and operationalization of the Intersectoral Commission, Member States and all relevant stakeholders will contribute to a successful outcome on the health and food security in the Americas and beyond.
This Call to action is in response to the PASB regional OH policy, which calls for Member States to implement OH strategies/actions and for the PASB to provide technical cooperation. Furthermore, the request to establish the Intersectoral Commission, including hosting its technical and administrative secretariat, respond to appeals to the PASB from different animal health mechanisms and organizations. These includes the Permanent Veterinary Committee of the Southern Cone (CVP), the General Secretariat of the Andean Community (SGCAN), and the International Regional Organization for Agricultural Health (OIRSA).
The Southern Agricultural Council (CAS) comprised by the Ministers of Agriculture of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay has also endorsed this initiative. Additionally, the creation of this commission was also recommended during the Regional Consultation for Strengthening Intersectoral Work at the Human-Animal Interface of Avian Influenza, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 14-16 March 2023.
